California's Top Issue?

Last week, the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) issued its 75th statewide opinion poll ... readers in this poll should see that if you combined economy, jobs, housing costs and gasoline -- basically, your wallet -- it would be "the most important issue facing people in California today."

Here are some snippets from the poll ...

Thinking about the state as a whole, what do you think is the most important issue facing people in California today?

19% immigration, illegal immigration
13% jobs, economy
12% education, schools
9% health care, health costs
7% gasoline prices
6% crime, gangs, drugs
4% housing costs
3% environment, pollution
3% state budget, deficit, taxes
3% traffic, transportation, infrastructure
14% other
7% don’t know

PPIC says ... "Californians say the most important issue facing the state today is immigration (19%), followed by jobs and the economy (13%), and education (12%). Fewer mentioned health care (9%), gasoline prices (7%),or other issues. Among likely voters, immigration (21%) remains a top concern, followed by education (14%), jobs and the economy, and health care (11% each). Regionally, immigration is the top concern among residents in the Other Southern California region (23%), Los Angeles (21%), and the Central Valley (17%), while education and schools are most important to those in the San Francisco Bay Area (19%). Across political parties, voters have differing views about the state’s most important issue. Republicans see immigration (31%) as the top concern, but only 10 percent of Democrats agree. Democrats mention the economy and jobs (15%) and health care (14%) as their top concerns, but Republicans are far less likely to agree (7% each). Latinos (19%) and whites (21%) are about as likely to name immigration as the most important issue facing California."

Turning to economic conditions in California, do you think that during the next 12 months we will have good times financially or bad times?

40% good times
51% bad times
9% don’t know

PPIC says ... "Californians have grown more pessimistic about the state’s economy for the coming year. Half of alladults (51%) now think bad economic times are to come. In January, 39 percent of all adults expectedbad economic times. Today, residents in the Other Southern California region (53%) [Blogger note: that includes O.C.] are the most likely to expect bad times, followed by the Central Valley (51%), Los Angeles (50%), and the San Francisco Bay Area (47%). Democrats (59%) and independents (52%) are more pessimistic than Republicans (42%). Pessimism is higher among Latinos (54%) than whites (48%) and women (55%) than men (46%)."

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