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(June 2005) Do Pennsylvanians oppose Medicaid cuts in favor of keeping recent federal tax cuts? Do they favor low taxes or a secure public safety net? The Spring 2005 IssuesPA/Pew Poll on values and government reform sought to learn what Pennsylvanians value - asking those participating to make value choices between two statements. The poll also asked their views on federal, state and local government.

Domestic issues or international focus?

A clear majority of Pennsylvanians surveyed (57%) said the country should pay less attention to problems overseas and concentrate on problems here at home. In contrast, last December a Pew Research Center nationwide poll found about half of Americans (49%) hold such views.

Both nationally and in Pennsylvania, segments of the population having a tough time making it in today's economy were most likely to want government to turn its focus to domestic problems. This included single parents (70% favored domestic focus over international), those with household incomes under $30,000 (69%), those with a high school education or less (67%), non-whites (67%), and young adults ages 18 to 29 (67%).

Lower taxes or stronger safety net?

Despite their general unwillingness to pay higher taxes, preserving - or even expanding - the government social safety net was a priority for most Pennsylvanians surveyed. Past IssuesPA/Pew polls consistently found Pennsylvanians believe the taxes they pay are too high. Nonetheless, those surveyed valued a strong social safety net for the disadvantaged. Over half (53%) of poll participants statewide said government should do more to help the needy, even if it meant taking on more debt or higher taxes, while 35% said government can't afford to do anything more. And half (50%) said government benefits today don't go far enough to help the poor. Seven in 10 (69%) said they'd favor government action to provide health insurance for everyone, even if it meant higher taxes.

Pennsylvanians surveyed were particularly opposed to serious cuts in Medicaid spending - if that is the price of keeping the recent federal tax cuts in place. By a margin of 72%-20%, they said they'd rather avoid serious cuts in Medicaid spending than keep the federal tax cuts. By a smaller margin of 53%-38%, they said they'd rather reduce the federal deficit than keep the tax cuts.

Respondents expressed favorable opinions about doing more to protect the environment. Three-quarters said Pennsylvania should do whatever it takes to protect the environment versus those who said they believe efforts to protect the environment have gone too far. Also, three in five said stricter environmental laws and regulations are worth the cost. There are regional and demographic differences, however. Pennsylvanians in the South Central region and "rest of state" expressed less support for efforts to protect the environment (70%) than those in the Southeast (82%) and the City of Philadelphia (86%). Also, the younger, the more educated, and the higher one's income, the more likely he or she was to believe the environment should be protected.

Government gets a bad rap? Or is it wasteful and inefficient?

Pennsylvanians surveyed said government often is wasteful and inefficient. In fact, twice as many (61%-32%) said they believe government is almost always wasteful and inefficient than those who said government is doing a better job than it gets credit for doing. Those in Southwestern and Northeastern Pennsylvania were more likely than others to believe that government is wasteful and inefficient. Middle-aged and older Pennsylvanians and those with lower incomes also were more likely to lack confidence in government.

Overall Pennsylvanians were less likely than those in the nation as a whole (42%-49%) to believe government regulation of business is necessary to protect the public interest. College graduates and those with higher income were more likely to believe government regulation is necessary to protect the public interest, as were young adults.

What does it all mean?

The IssuesPA/Pew Poll findings suggest government should take a greater interest in domestic issues. However, poll participants said they distrust the ability of governments to perform their roles efficiently, significantly more so than results found for the nation as a whole. Despite this lack of optimism and faith in the activities of government, poll results also suggested government should be even more involved in certain areas of society, including the needs of the poor, the environment, and health care.