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FOR RELEASE: JANUARY 26, 2011

NEW YORKERS OPPOSE MANY BUDGET-CUTTING IDEAS,

QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY POLL FINDS;

BUT 3-1 SUPPORT FREEZING STATE WORKER PAY

New York State’s new governor, Andrew Cuomo, gets a 47 – 11 percent favorability rating from

voters, with 36 percent saying they don’t know enough about him to form an opinion, according

to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

While 77 percent of voters say New York State’s budget problems are “very serious,”

and 19 percent call them “somewhat serious,” voters oppose many of the possible budget cuts

that could help close the state’s deficit, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack)

University poll finds.

New York State voters support 75 – 20 percent a wage freeze for state workers, with

68 – 25 percent support among Democrats and 73 – 24 percent from voters with at least one

union member in the household. But a look at other budget-cutting measures shows:

• 45 – 47 percent split on layoffs of state workers;

• 52 – 30 percent support furloughs for state workers;

• 55 – 38 percent oppose reducing state worker pensions;

• 79 – 18 percent oppose cutting state aid to public schools;

• 69 – 28 percent oppose cutting Medicaid.

“In what is usually the ‘honeymoon’ for new officials, Gov. Andrew Cuomo gets a so-so

welcome. We didn’t ask about his job approval, since he’s been on the job less than a month, but

more New Yorkers give him a ‘favorable’ rating than an ‘unfavorable,’ meaning they like him.

Still, about a third are taking a wait-and-see attitude,” said Maurice Carroll, director of the

Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

“But the same voters who agree the state’s in horrendous fiscal shape reject many of the

standard remedies. Except when it comes to public employees. Gov. Cuomo has called for a

wage freeze and New Yorkers are with him more than 3–1, even those in union households.”

Maurice Carroll, Director,Quinnipiac University PollingInstitute(203) 582-5334

Rubenstein Associates, Inc.

Public Relations

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-more-

Quinnipiac University Poll/January 26, 2010 – page 2

“But that’s about where it stops. Layoffs? Voters are divided. Furloughs? A little more

support. School aid? Leave it alone. Medicaid? Don’t cut it,” Carroll added.

By an overwhelming 82 – 13 percent margin, New York State voters support a cap on

property tax increases, with strong support from every group.

In an open-ended question, allowing for any answer, 37 percent list economy or jobs as

the state’s most important problem, followed by 19 percent who cite the budget and 17 percent

who list taxes. No other issue gets more than 6 percent.

Given a choice between raising taxes or cutting services to balance the budget, New York

State voters prefer service cuts 60 – 27 percent. Democrats split 42 – 43 percent, while support

for service cuts is 82 – 8 percent among Republicans and 66 – 22 percent among independentvoters.

In a straight out “support” or “oppose” question, voters oppose 66 – 32 percent increasing

state taxes to balance the budget. Democrats oppose tax hikes 54 – 43 percent.

But voters say 74 – 19 percent that the state will increase taxes. The feeling that taxes are

going up is strong among all groups.

By a small 42 – 39 percent margin, voters say Cuomo and the State Legislature will be

able to solve New York State’s budget problems.

And by a larger 57 – 29 percent margin, voters are hopeful that Cuomo will be able to

open up the budget negations to more state legislators, breaking the long tradition of “three men

in a room,” the governor, the Assembly speaker and the State Senate majority leader, making

major budget decisions.

“New Yorkers are cynical about Albany. By 2-1, they don’t want tax increases but by

almost 4-1, voters think Albany will do it anyway,” Carroll said. “But most think Cuomo might

be able to end the infamous ‘three-men-in-a-room’ way of doing the public business.”

Andrew Cuomo will be a better governor than his father, Mario Cuomo, 26 percent of

voters say, while 5 percent give the nod to Mario Cuomo and 41 percent think father and son will

be about the same.

From January 18 – 24, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,436 registered voters with a

margin of error of +/- 2.6 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones.

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The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public

opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio and the

nation as a public service and for research.

For more data or RSS feed– http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml , call (203) 582-5201, or

follow us on Twitter.

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http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml

http://twitter.com/QuinnipiacPoll

http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml

http://twitter.com/QuinnipiacPoll

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1. Is your opinion of Governor Andrew Cuomo favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard

enough about him?

Union

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds

Favorable 47% 34% 64% 39% 45% 50% 50%

Unfavorable 11 18 5 13 13 9 13

Hvn't hrd enough 36 40 26 43 36 35 29

REFUSED 6 8 5 5 5 6 7

UpStat NYC Sub

Favorable 40% 53% 52%

Unfavorable 12 10 11

Hvn't hrd enough 42 32 31

REFUSED 6 6 6

TREND: Is your opinion of Andrew Cuomo favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough

about him? (*High also 63% Apr 2009 and Feb 2009/**Added title "Governor Andrew Cuomo”)

FAVORABLE.....

High Low

Jan 26 Sep 01 Jun 22 Apr 13 Feb 3 Jun 24 Jan 262011** 2010 2010 2010 2010 2009* 2011**

Favorable 47 54 57 59 54 63 47

Unfavorable 11 21 18 19 16 15 11

Hvn't hrd enough 36 22 22 20 28 20 36

REFUSED 6 3 3 2 2 2 6

5. In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in New York State

today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very

dissatisfied?

Union


Very satisfied 2% 1% 2% 2% 2% 2% 1%

Smwht satisfied 26 11 39 21 20 31 23

Smwht dissatisfied 37 37 40 36 37 38 40

Very dissatisfied 33 48 17 39 38 29 33

DK/NA 2 2 2 3 3 1 2

TREND: In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in New York State

today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very

dissatisfied?

VERY+SMWHT SAT

High LowJan 26 Dec 08 Sep 01 Jul 28 Jun 23 Feb 25 Jun 23

2011 2010 2010 2010 2010 1998 2010

Very satisfied 2 2 1 3 1 13 1

Smwht satisfied 26 23 19 20 18 60 18

Smwht dissatisfied 37 31 31 32 33 20 33

Very dissatisfied 33 42 47 45 47 7 47

DK/NA 2 1 1 - 1 1 1

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6. What do you think is the most important problem facing New York State today?

Tot

Economy Total 37%

Economy general 6

Unemployment/Jobs 27

Cost of living 2

Business leaving/

Outsourcing 1Economy other 1

Budget Total 19%

Budget general 5

Budget cuts/Cuts in

services 2

Budget deficits 6

Gov too big/Gov spending 3

Budget priorities 2

State workers/Union

contracts too costly 1

Taxes Total 17%Taxes general 11

Property tax 5

Income Tax 1

Politicians Total 6%

Politicians/Campaigns

general 1

Political corruption 2

Governor/State leadership/

Legislature 2

Politicians other 1

Education Total 5%

Education general 3Funding education 1

Education other 1

Healthcare Total 3%

Healthcare/Costs/Ins/HMO's 2

Medicare 1

Crime Total 2%

Crime/Violence general 1

Crime other 1

Welfare 1%

Poverty/Homeless 1%Senior issues 1%

Lack of ethics/Morality 1%

Mass Transit Total 1%

War (Iraq) 1%

Other 2%

DK/NA 3%

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7. Do you think Andrew Cuomo will be a better governor than his father, Mario Cuomo, a

worse governor, or about the same?

Union


Better 26% 33% 23% 26% 25% 27% 25%

Worse 5 7 4 6 6 5 7

About the same 41 37 45 39 42 41 43

DK/NA 27 23 28 28 27 28 25

UpStat NYC Sub

Better 26% 22% 32%

Worse 4 9 3

About the same 40 45 39

DK/NA 30 25 26

TREND: Do you think Andrew Cuomo would be a better governor than his father, Mario Cuomo,

a worse governor, or about the same? (* “will” be a better governor)

Jan 26 Jun 22

2011* 2010

Better 26 26

Worse 5 10

About the same 41 51

DK/NA 27 18

8. Would you describe the state of New York State's economy these days as; excellent,

good, not so good, or poor?

Union


Excellent 1% 1% 1% - 1% 1% 1%

Good 10 5 15 8 10 9 8Not so good 44 38 48 44 40 47 44

Poor 45 56 34 48 49 41 48

DK/NA 1 - 2 1 - 2 -

UpStat NYC Sub

Excellent 0% 1% 1%

Good 7 14 8

Not so good 37 48 48

Poor 55 36 41

DK/NA - 1 2

TREND: Would you describe the state of New York State's economy these days as -excellent, good, not so good, or poor?

EXCLNT+GOOD...

High Low

Jan 26 Apr 07 Feb 19 Jan 15 Dec 24 Mar 29 Apr 07

2011 2009 2009 2009 2008 2006 2009

Excellent 1 - 1 - - 2 -

Good 10 4 4 7 6 35 4

Not so good 44 40 40 40 43 40 40

Poor 45 55 55 52 51 22 55

DK/NA 1 1 1 1 1 2 1

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9. Do you think New York State's economy is getting better, getting worse, or staying

about the same?

Union


Better 16% 11% 24% 11% 17% 15% 16%

Worse 35 40 26 40 38 33 37

The same 46 44 48 46 43 49 45

DK/NA 3 4 2 3 3 3 2

UpStat NYC Sub

Better 12% 20% 17%

Worse 41 32 31

The same 45 46 48

DK/NA 3 2 4

TREND: Do you think New York State's economy is getting better, getting worse, or staying

about the same?

Jan 26 Apr 07

2011 2009

Better 16 5

Worse 35 56

The same 46 37

DK/NA 3 2

10. Would you describe the state of your own personal finances these days as; excellent,

good, not so good, or poor?

Union


Excellent 4% 6% 3% 4% 4% 4% 5%

Good 49 57 45 48 53 45 57Not so good 30 22 35 29 27 33 27

Poor 15 13 14 17 13 16 10

DK/NA 2 2 2 1 2 2 0

UpStat NYC Sub

Excellent 3% 3% 7%

Good 50 44 55

Not so good 27 36 26

Poor 18 14 10

DK/NA 2 2 2

TREND: Would you describe the state of your own personal finances these days as -excellent, good, not so good, or poor?

Jan 26 Apr 07 Feb 19 Dec 24 Jan 23 Nov 15

2011 2009 2009 2008 2002 2001

Excellent 4 6 4 5 9 8

Good 49 48 44 43 53 59

Not so good 30 32 35 35 28 25

Poor 15 13 15 16 8 6

DK/NA 2 2 2 1 1 2

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11. Do you think your personal finances are getting better, getting worse, or staying

about the same?

Union


Better 13% 15% 14% 10% 16% 10% 14%

Worse 28 23 26 31 27 29 30

The same 58 61 59 58 57 59 55

DK/NA 1 2 - 1 - 1 -

UpStat NYC Sub

Better 13% 14% 12%

Worse 27 30 26

The same 59 56 60

DK/NA 1 1 1

TREND: Do you think your personal finances are getting better, getting worse, or staying

about the same?

Jan 26 Apr 07

2011 2009

Better 13 10

Worse 28 28

The same 58 60

DK/NA 1 2

12. How serious do you think New York State's budget problems are; very serious, somewhat

serious, not too serious, or not at all serious?

Union


Very serious 77% 81% 73% 79% 81% 75% 78%

Smwht serious 19 18 22 17 16 21 19Not too serious 1 - 2 2 2 1 2

Not at all serious 1 1 1 - - 1 -

DK/NA 2 - 3 1 1 2 1

UpStat NYC Sub

Very serious 80% 74% 79%

Smwht serious 17 20 19

Not too serious - 3 -

Not at all serious 1 - -

DK/NA 1 3 2

TREND: How serious do you think New York State's budget problems are – very serious,somewhat serious, not too serious, or not at all serious?

VERY SERIOUS..

High Low

Jan 26 Dec 09 Feb 04 Aug 18 Feb 18 Feb 04 Dec 18

2011 2010 2010 2009 2009 2010 2002

Very serious 77 78 81 65 69 81 48

Smwht serious 19 19 15 28 26 15 44

Not too serious 1 1 3 5 4 3 5

Not at all serious 1 1 1 1 - 1 1

DK/NA 2 1 1 1 1 1 5

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13. Do you think Governor Cuomo and the legislature will be able to solve New York

State's budget problems or not?

Union


Yes 43% 36% 54% 37% 40% 46% 38%

No 39 45 29 45 46 34 43

DK/NA 17 19 17 19 14 20 19

UpStat NYC Sub

Yes 40% 43% 49%

No 45 37 33

DK/NA 15 19 18

TREND: Do you think Governor Cuomo and the legislature will be able to solve New York

State's budget problems or not?

Jan 26 Dec 09

2011 2010

Yes 43 38No 39 46

DK/NA 17 16

14. To balance the state budget, if you had to choose, would you prefer; raising taxes or

cutting government programs and services?

Union


Raising taxes 27% 8% 42% 22% 26% 28% 28%

Cutting programs/

Services 60 82 43 66 64 57 64

DK/NA 13 9 15 12 10 15 8

UpStat NYC Sub

Raising taxes 17% 41% 21%

Cutting programs/

Services 67 47 70

DK/NA 15 12 9

TREND: To balance the state budget, if you had to choose, would you prefer - raising

taxes or cutting government programs and services?

Jan 26 Dec 09 Feb 04 Aug 18 Feb 18 Jan 15 Dec 242011 2010 2010 2009 2009 2009 2008

Raising taxes 27 30 30 33 34 30 36

Cutting services 60 56 58 54 51 56 53

DK/NA 13 15 12 13 15 14 11

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15. To help balance the state budget do you support or oppose - layoffs for state

employees?

Union


Support 45% 60% 33% 49% 48% 43% 39%

Oppose 47 33 57 44 47 47 56

DK/NA 8 6 10 7 6 10 5

UpStat NYC Sub

Support 50% 36% 52%

Oppose 42 57 38

DK/NA 8 7 9

TREND: To help balance the state budget do you support or oppose - layoffs for state

employees?

Jan 26 Dec 09

2011 2010

Support 45 43

Oppose 47 52DK/NA 8 6

16. To help balance the state budget do you support or oppose - furloughs for state

employees?

Union


Support 52% 56% 47% 57% 52% 53% 54%

Oppose 30 30 33 28 33 29 33

DK/NA 17 14 20 15 16 19 13

UpStat NYC Sub

Support 52% 47% 61%

Oppose 31 36 21

DK/NA 18 17 18

TREND: To help balance the state budget do you support or oppose – furloughs for state

employees?

Jan 26 Dec 09

2011 2010

Support 52 56


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17. To help balance the state budget, do you support or oppose - a wage freeze for state

workers?

Union


Support 75% 83% 68% 78% 74% 76% 73%

Oppose 20 14 25 18 21 19 24

DK/NA 5 3 7 3 5 6 2

UpStat NYC Sub

Support 78% 72% 74%

Oppose 17 23 20

DK/NA 5 5 7

TREND: To help balance the state budget, do you support or oppose a wage freeze for state

workers?

Jan 26 Dec 09 Feb 04 Dec 16

2011 2010 2010 2009

Support 75 72 75 68

Oppose 20 23 20 28DK/NA 5 5 5 5

18. To help balance the state budget, do you support or oppose – reducing pension

benefits for state workers?

Union


Support 38% 47% 30% 42% 45% 32% 30%

Oppose 55 45 64 49 49 59 66

DK/NA 7 9 6 8 6 9 3

UpStat NYC Sub

Support 41% 33% 43%

Oppose 52 59 51

DK/NA 7 8 7

TREND: To help balance the state budget, do you support or oppose – reducing pension

benefits for state workers?

Jan 26 Dec 09

2011 2010

Support 38 37


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19. To help balance the state budget, do you support or oppose - cutting state aid to

public schools?

Union


Support 18% 26% 7% 26% 23% 14% 18%

Oppose 79 70 91 70 75 82 80

DK/NA 3 4 2 4 2 3 2

HvKidsInUpStat NYC Sub PubSch

Support 21% 13% 22% 15%

Oppose 76 84 75 84

DK/NA 3 2 3 2

TREND: To help balance the state budget, do you support or oppose cutting state aid to

public schools?

Jan 26 Dec 09 Feb 04

2011 2010 2010

Support 18 19 19Oppose 79 78 78

DK/NA 3 3 2

20. To help balance the state budget, do you support or oppose - cutting state aid to

your local public schools?

Union


Support 18% 24% 7% 27% 23% 14% 18%

Oppose 79 74 91 69 74 84 79

DK/NA 3 2 2 5 3 3 2

HvKidsIn

UpStat NYC Sub PubSch

Support 21% 13% 22% 17%

Oppose 76 85 74 81

DK/NA 3 2 4 2

21. To help balance the state budget, do you support or oppose – cutting Medicaid, which

is the government program which pays for health care for low income people?

Union


Support 28% 44% 16% 29% 31% 25% 32%

Oppose 69 52 82 68 67 70 66

DK/NA 3 4 3 3 2 4 2

UpStat NYC Sub

Support 33% 20% 31%

Oppose 64 77 64

DK/NA 3 3 5

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24. Should there be a cap on how much property taxes can be raised annually in New York

State or not?

Union


Yes 82% 90% 78% 83% 83% 82% 84%

No 13 7 17 11 13 12 14

DK/NA 5 3 5 6 4 6 2

UpStat NYC Sub

Yes 85% 76% 88%

No 11 17 9

DK/NA 4 7 3

25. Historically, the Governor, the Senate Majority Leader, and the Assembly Speaker have

made all the big decisions in Albany with little input from state legislators. With

Andrew Cuomo as governor do you think that Albany's "three men in a room" decision-making

will continue or that other legislators will be more involved?

Union


Three men continues 29% 35% 18% 34% 37% 21% 33%

Other legislators

involved 57 51 66 53 49 64 57

DK/NA 14 14 16 13 14 15 10

UpStat NYC Sub

Three men continue 33% 27% 23%

Other legislators

involved 55 54 66

DK/NA 12 19 11

26. Do you think the public-employee unions have too much political power,

too little political power, or about the right amount of political power?

Union


Too much 50% 64% 36% 56% 51% 48% 37%

Too little 11 4 14 10 7 14 14

About right 29 22 37 27 36 24 46

DK/NA 10 10 13 7 6 14 4

UpStat NYC Sub

Too much 53% 45% 52%

Too little 10 14 7

About right 27 30 32

DK/NA 10 10 10

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