Tag Archives: Poll

T-SPLOST losing statewide, but not in Region 11

It sounds like good news for T-SPLOST opponents, until you look at the details.

Eve Chen wrote for 11Alive yesterday, 11Alive Poll | T-SPLOST would not pass today

Among likely voters surveyed by SurveyUSA for 11Alive News, across the state, 48% said they would vote against T-SPLOST and 36% said they would vote for it if the primary were today; 16% were still undecided. The margin of error was 3.4%.

But look at the details. The big No regions are Atlanta metro and northwards (see Question 1). In our Region 11 it’s Yes 41%, No 33%, Not Certain 26% so there’s work to be done. Do we want to end up stuck with projects we don’t need after Atlanta votes down its region in a referendum that was designed to pass in Atlanta?

My favorite is question 6:

How likely is it that the state government would properly handle the funds if the transportation tax increase is passed?

In region 11, Very 17%, Somewhat 24%, Not Very 25%, Not At All 21%, Not Sure 14%. Trust problem, GDOT?

And nobody is buying the scare tactics. See Question 4, for which every region says by around 2 to 1 that traffic would stay about the same without T-SPLOST. Question 3 indicates few even think T-SPLOST would improve traffic. We also know a Plan B is possible. How about a Plan B including public transportation for south Georgia to help people get to work?

-jsq

Portugal as forerunner for U.S. states repealing drug prohibition

If Portugal can do it, Washington state or even Georgia can do it.

For comparison:

Population
Portugal 10.632 million
Washington (U.S.)6.664 million
Georgia (U.S.)9.829 million
California (U.S.)36.962 million
So Portugal, which has successfully decriminalized drugs, is similar in scale to a mid-sized U.S. state. Somewhat bigger than Washington state, which just almost got marijuana decriminalization on a ballot, and of whose voters almost a majority support it. With a little more work, people against prohibition could get Washington to be the first state to end marijuana prohibition. Too bad they’re not going for all drugs, like Portugal did, but marijuana offences account probably for the most drug-related lockups, so that’s a good place to start. Still, the problem won’t be solved until the drug cartels and the prison-industrial-complex are deprived of their drug-related income by legalizing the rest, and taxing them so states derive income from them.

Meanwhile we could refuse to participate by declining a private prison in Lowndes County, Georgia, and spending that tax money on rehabilitation and education instead.

-jsq

License and tax marijuana —Washington state poll

Richard Wagoner wrote in the Seattle Times 5 July 2011, Elway poll: Washington voters favor legalizing pot:
A new Elway poll released today found that most Washington voters supported or were inclined to support legalizing marijuana. However, the level of majority support was within the the poll’s margin of error.

Thirty percent of those polled said they “definitely supported” legalizing marijuana, while 24 percent said they were “inclined to support, but needed to know more.”

Thirty-two percent of the voters were “definitely opposed” to legal pot, and 11 percent were “inclined to oppose, but could be convinced” otherwise, the poll found.

Was this enough? Continue reading →

Americans overwhelmingly want clean energy and environmental protection —Pew

Climate Progress points out that a new Pew poll, “Beyond Red vs. Blue: The Political Typology”, shows that Public support for alternative energy transcends political barriers:
71% of Americans believe “This country should do whatever it takes to protect the environment.” And 59% believe that “strongly.”
Quoting from Pew’s summary:
In light of this diversity it is interesting to note a couple of areas where almost all of these groups agree. The first is on support for alternative energy. Overall, the public prioritizes developing alternative energy over expanding oil, coal, and natural gas by a 63-29 margin. And, as shown in the chart below, seven of Pew’s eight active typology groups support this position, including a whopping 40-point margin among the Main Street Republican group. Only the staunch conservatives (9 percent of the public) dissent from the rest. Conservatives usually act like progressive ideas have no purchase in “their” part of the political spectrum. These data suggest otherwise.
And no, conservatives are not the political type the south has the most disproportional percentage of: those would be Hard-Pressed Democrats and Disaffecteds.

And no, by “alternative energy” people don’t mean polluting biomass: 63% of Americans say “EPA needs to do more to hold polluters accountable and protect the air and water”. What Americans want is clean renewable energy: solar, wind, and hydrogen.

-jsq