(If this post seems familiar, we’ve used the "Disneyland" analogy below before, as this isn’t the first time that the liberals in the media have "lept" onto a briefly worded survey to assert informed public opinion.)
As FR contributor and public opinion pollster Adam Probolsky likes to say, a poll is only as good as what you ask, and to whom you ask it. So I was quite amused to see so much enthusiasm erupt from the liberal media and left-wing Democrats when the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) released their latest survey response — where PPIC declares that the public supports (hold onto your chair) HIGHER TAXES.
If you go to Page 27 of the full report of the PPIC survey, you can see the actual questions asked to those surveyed. What is most instructive if you read it is what is not presented to those being asked questions is any articulation of the massive growth of state government spending, especially over the last five years. Naturally, of course, there is no mention whatsoever of the extremely negative economic impacts of raisi ng taxes.
Why not just ask, "Would you like prices to be lower to spend a day at Disneyland?"
Of course virtually all respondents would say yes. But what if the follow up question was, "Would you still want entrance prices lowered at Disneyland if you knew that many of your favorite rides and attractions would be closed (for my son, that would be the Flying Dumbo ride)? Or that food prices in the park would go up 100%? Or that park hours would need to be reduced?"
I’m sure that faced with the real consequences of lower entrance fees at Disneyland, poll respondents would probably prefer to keep the prices, and enjoy all of the amazing things that Disney has done with their flagship theme park.
Which brings me back to the PPIC survey. Because what wasn’t asked was the all important follow up question, "Would you still support this plan if you knew that the tax increases in it could cripple California economy and cause you and many others to lose their jobs?"
Of course this question wasn’t asked. But then again, liberals would probably also mandate a price cut in Disneyland tickets if they could, as long as it wouldn’t close Fantasyland.
In conclusion, it is dubious at best to charge forward with an assumption that Californians support policies when they have not been educated as to their real impacts. Surveys like those conducted by PPIC certainly have some value. But it is typical of the liberals who are seeking a big-government approach to solving our state’s overspending problem to reach out and seize these kinds of survey results as a mandate to raise taxes.
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