Poll: Nearly 43% say R.I. moving in wrong direction

PROVIDENCE – Nearly 43 percent of Rhode Islanders say the state is moving in the wrong direction, but 54 percent feel that the newly elected leaders will provide stronger leadership, according to a new poll conducted for Bryant University’s Hassenfeld Institute for Public Leadership.
“The objective of the poll is to inform decision-makers on the opinions of voting citizens on critical public policy issues,” Gary Sasse, founding director of the Hassenfeld Institute, said in a statement.
Conducted by Fleming & Associates, a public opinion polling firm, the poll showed that 32.8 percent of Rhode Islanders feel the state is headed in the right direction, while 14.4 percent said it is the same and 10.2 percent were not sure.
Thirty percent of respondents felt job opportunities were the most important problem, followed by taxes at 18.7 percent; government corruption at 13.9 percent; government spending at 10.4 percent; lack of effective leadership at 9.7 percent; public school performance at 7 percent; and cost of health care at 5.7 percent. Another 4.5 percent were not sure what the most important problem was.
The poll also showed that several of the key elements of Gov. Gina M. Raimondo’s jobs creation agenda will be effective.

  • 59 percent believed targeted tax credits for business will create jobs.
  • 50.5 percent believed $25 million for economic development of vacant land in downtown Providence will create jobs.
  • 52.7 percent believed a state tourism campaign will create jobs.

The student loan forgiveness and infrastructure bank were met with less confidence. Only 46.5 percent said student loan forgiveness for college students would create jobs, and only 37.3 percent thought the state infrastructure bank would work.
The poll also measured support for several issues that will be considered by the General Assembly.
“There are critical issues that the General Assembly will be considering that impact Rhode Islanders in a variety of ways, from education to medical expenditures to minimum wage,” Sasse said. “There was a lot of support for many of these initiatives. One standout that was resoundingly rejected was the tax on health insurance to fund HealthSource RI.”
Sixty-two percent were against taxing health insurance plans to fund HealthSource RI, while 69.9 percent were in favor of funding full-day kindergarten, as well as reducing Medicaid costs by 10 percent. Seventy-five percent were in favor of raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour.
The poll is the first of three that the Hassenfeld Institute for Public Leadership and Fleming Associates will be conducting. The next poll on public issues will be in the fall, and a poll in January will measure public opinion on how the state is doing on jobs and the economy.
Fleming & Associates conducted the poll of 402 Rhode Islanders from April 26 to 28.
Most respondents – 41 percent – were 40 to 59 years old, while 35 percent were 60 or older and 23 percent were 18 to 39.
The majority were female, at 53 percent, and 25 percent reported a household income of $100,000 or more. Most also identified their political affiliation as Independent at 43 percent, followed by Democrat at 39 percent and Republican, 14 percent. Four percent refused to answer.

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