We Ask America has conducted a poll in Michigan gauging Michigan voters’ approval of Gov. Rick Snyder and his decision to file bankruptcy. I was especially interested in a study in Michigan, and I hope to analyze others, because I am an avid believer in an average of polls approach.
Nevertheless, Michigan voters have been electing so-called progressive Democrats for decades after Republican governance led them to prosperity, but now it is interesting to see if they are willing to take responsibility for that “progress” made in Detroit.
Clearly, key to the debate is the ultimate decision about the pension benefits of city workers. Detroit is unfortunately not alone in having horribly underfunded pensions for public workers to the point of bankruptcy. Will other voters be willing to admit their supporting misguided policies were to blame?
The poll was conducted during the evenings of July 23-24, and we will discuss the biggest implication after looking at the tables.
As you probably know, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder recently decided to go along with the decision to declare Detroit bankrupt. We’d like to know whether you generally APPROVE or DISAPPROVE of that decision.
- Approve
- Disapprove
- Undecided
Does Gov. Snyder’s decision make you MORE LIKELY or LESS LIKELY to support him in next year’s election?
- More likely
- Less likely
- Undecided
Detroit’s bankruptcy could possibly lead to a reduction of city workers’ retirement benefits in the future. We’d like to know which of the following statements comes closest to your view on the situation.
- It’s unfortunate, but necessary to cut retirement benefit due to the financial situation.
- There is no excuse to cut any benefits.
- Benefits should have been cut even without bankruptcy.
- None of these
“To provide some context, we asked each participant whether or not their household included a public or private-sector union member, and we derived from our calling list if the participant lived in Detroit or not.”
Here are the basic weighted poll results:
Poll type: Automated – Date: July 23-24, 2013 – Participants: 1,338 Likely Voters – Margin of Error: ± 2.9%
| Approve or Disapprove of Bankruptcy | |||
| Approve | 55% | ||
| Disapprove | 33% | ||
| Not Sure | 12% | ||
| More or Less Likely to support Gov. Snyder in 2014 | |||
| More Likely | 41% | ||
| Less Likely | 42% | ||
| Not Sure | 17% | ||
| Bankruptcy Opinion | |||
| Unfortunate but Necessary | 29% | ||
| No Excuse | 39% | ||
| Cuts without Bankruptcy | 15% | ||
| None of These | 17% | ||
| CROSSTABS | |||
| Approve Bankruptcy by GENDER | |||
| Approve | Disapprove | Not Sure | |
| Female | 47% | 40% | 14% |
| Male | 65% | 25% | 10% |
| Approve Bankruptcy by PARTY AFFILIATION | |||
| Approve | Disapprove | Not Sure | |
| Republican | 73% | 16% | 10% |
| Democrat | 39% | 48% | 13% |
| Independent | 56% | 31% | 13% |
| Approve Bankruptcy by AGE BRACKET | |||
| Approve | Disapprove | Undecided | |
| 18-24 | 59% | 5% | 36% |
| 25-34 | 52% | 41% | 7% |
| 35-44 | 54% | 40% | 7% |
| 45-54 | 56% | 33% | 10% |
| 55-64 | 55% | 36% | 9% |
| 65+ | 54% | 30% | 17% |
| Approve Bankruptcy by ETHNIC ORIGIN | |||
| Approve | Disapprove | Not Sure | |
| African American | 46% | 44% | 10% |
| Asian | 62% | 12% | 25% |
| Hispanic | 33% | 36% | 31% |
| White | 57% | 31% | 12% |
| Other/Refused | |||
| Approve Bankruptcy by UNION HOUSEHOLD | |||
| Approve | Disapprove | Not Sure | |
| Public Sector | 49% | 39% | 12% |
| Non-Public Sector | 47% | 45% | 8% |
| No Union | 60% | 26% | 14% |
| Approve Bankruptcy by LOCATION | |||
| Approve | Disapprove | Not Sure | |
| Detroit | 20% | 65% | 15% |
| Rest of State | 58% | 30% | 12% |
We Ask American will be posting the full set of data with crosstabs soon, and when they do I will update the post.
The most interesting result to them and I would certainly agree, was the comparison of those who favored the governor’s decision to proceed with bankruptcy (55%) to those who say it will make them more likely or less likely to support him in future elections (split decision 41% more likely, 42% less likely). “As the twists and turns of the upcoming proceedings unwind, those numbers are bound to change,” they wrote.
