Budget Woes Take Toll on Views of State Governments

According to a new survey, with the economy wreaking havoc on state budgets, the favorability ratings of state governments have declined from a year ago. Overall, 50% of the public now holds a favorable opinion of their state government, down from 59% in April 2008. The falloff in positive views has been greater in states with large and moderate budget shortfalls than in states with smaller budget gaps. As positive ratings of state governments have declined, peoples ratings of their local governments have remained relatively stable. By nearly a two-to-one margin, Americans express a favorable opinion of their local governments (60% favorable, 32% unfavorable), which is largely unchanged from April 2008 (63% favorable).

This survey was conducted July 22-26 by PSRAI for the Pew Research Center among 1,506 adults. To view more from this survey, click here.

Back to Current News