NEW POLL: West Virginia Voters Say to Hold Off on New Spending
Americans for Prosperity/YouGov poll finds majority of independents concerned about inflation, middle class tax hikes
CHARLESTON, WV – Americans for Prosperity – West Virginia (WV) today released findings of a poll conducted by YouGov October 7-18, 2021, that found a significant majority of West Virginians, including independent voters, want Congress to hold off on passing new spending, amid concerns that the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package would cause additional inflation, increase taxes, and hurt the economy.
AFP-WV State Director Jason Huffman released the following statement:
“This poll confirms what we’ve been hearing for months: that West Virginians are deeply concerned that the partisan reconciliation bill will increase their taxes and cause inflation to skyrocket, while offering no benefit to their families. AFP-WV is calling on our representatives in Washington to stop this reckless spending spree.”
Topline Findings:
Significant Majority of West Virginians Say Scrap the Bill Entirely. 53 percent of West Virginians and 57 percent of Independents believe the $3.5 trillion infrastructure spending package would lead to “higher middles-class taxes, higher interest rates, and higher inflation” and that Congress should “scrap the bill” entirely. Only 32 percent believed the bill was an important investment in America, with 16 percent unsure.
Major Concerns Loom Over Higher Inflation and Increased Cost of Living. A full two-thirds (67 percent) believe the bill is likely to cause higher inflation, including 70 percent of independents. 74 percent of independents have “big” or “moderate” concerns about this bill causing higher inflation. A strong majority of respondents, 60 percent, cite higher inflation as a reason to hold off on any new spending.
Despite Claims, Nearly 60 Percent Believe Middle Class Will See Higher Taxes. Despite claims that only high-income Americans will pay for the reconciliation bill, only 23 percent of respondents believe that will be the case. 59 percent of respondents believe the middle class will end up paying more in taxes.
Plurality Believe Benefits Will Go To Special Interest, Not Their Family Or Those In Need. Forty-five percent of respondents said that the package would not help their families at all, compared to just 8 percent who said they would benefit greatly. What’s more, 63 percent said that the reconciliation package would greatly or somewhat benefit special interests.
- Respondents largely do not believe, as supporters claim, that lower-income Americans will benefit from the reconciliation package. 56 percent believe that low-income individuals will not benefit at all. Only 13 percent said that low-income Americans would benefit greatly.
Independents Overwhelmingly Oppose The Spending Package, With Major Concerns About Inflation, Tax Hikes, and Spending.
- 57 percent want to scrap the bill entirely.
- 70 percent believe it will cause higher inflation.
- 64 percent believe it will raise taxes on the middle class, not just the wealthy.
- 61 percent do not believe low-income Americans will be helped by this bill.
- Only 8 percent of independents think low-income Americans will be helped by this bill.
METHODOLOGY: YouGov interviewed 400 West Virginia respondents from October 7th to October 18th to produce the final dataset. The respondents were matched to a sampling frame on gender, age, race, and education. The frame was constructed by stratified sampling from the full 2019 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year sample with selection within strata by weighted sampling with replacements (using the person weights on the public use file). It was not solely among registered voters, although the vast majority of respondents were registered voters.
