Just a quick diary in case you have not seen the latest Field Poll results on the California state budget problems.
Most voters (61 percent) want there to be a special election to decide whether to extend taxes, and 58 percent would vote in favor of the tax extension if the election were held today. These extensions would include a 1 cent increase in the sales tax, a 1/2 percent increase in vehicle license fees, and a 1/4 percent increase in personal income taxes enacted in 2009.
However, Governor Brown is still having problems getting the Republicans in the Capitol to agree to put the tax extension on the ballot. These people are such cowards they are afraid to let the people vote.
Thirty of the 43 Republican lawmakers in the Legislature have signed a pledge that they would not vote to put a tax measure on the ballot without another measure that would decrease tax revenue by an equal amount.
Overall, here are the percentage who favor cuts in various areas in order to close the deficit -
Courts: 59%
Prisons: 58.7%
Environmental regulation: 46.5%
Roads: 45.6%
Public transportation: 44.5%
State parks: 44.5%
Public assistance to low income families: 43.6%
Water storage: 40.3%
Child care: 35.7%
Higher education: 33.5%
Mental health programs: 33.4%
Health care for the low income and disabled: 28.4%
Law enforcement: 27.5%
K-12 education: 23.9%
I would be willing to pay higher taxes to help the state balance the budget: 42.9% agree
I would be willing to extend the temporary tax increases to help the state balance its budget: 61.1% agree
Detailed Field Poll breakdowns are available here (pdf) and the press release with more details is here (pdf).
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Update: I notice that the 61.1% who would be willing to extend taxes seems to conflict with the 58% mentioned at the top. In the detailed results they first asked the question with 61.1, then they gave the listener more information about what the tax was, and then asked again first whether they would want it on the ballot and then if it was on the ballot, whether they would vote for the taxes - that is where they got the 58 percent number.