We’ve heard a little bit about the difference between a politician testing a message and push polling this campaign season, but what exactly is a push poll? It’s when a pollster asks a question in a way that begs a certain response.
For an example, see this question on pension politics from the recent Brown University Taubman Center poll on Providence and its finances:
Cities and towns in Rhode Island and across the country are facing unprecedented budget shortfalls as a result of unfunded pension liabilities for firefighters, police officers, and other city workers. Many people say the pension spending is “out of control.” Which of the following items would you 1) support or 2) oppose, to control spending on municipal pensions?
First off the question starts with the assertion that the topic at hand is responsible for a nation-wide fiscal epidemic. One can make that argument I suppose, but the pollsters didn’t start any other question with such disclaimers. Secondly, the pollster frames the issue as being “out of control,” pure emotional terms, and then attributes it to the all-encompassing “many people” catchall – which, by the way, in journalism roughly translates to ‘I couldn’t nail this down but I’m certain a lot of people think it.’
Here are the results:
- Eliminate the cost of living adjustments for all city pensions: support 48.5%; oppose 35.1%; don’t know/no answer 16.4%
- Offer a “defined contribution” retirement plan similar to 401K for all city employees? support 67.3%; oppose 15.8%; don’t know/no answer 16.9%
- Raise the age at which city workers can retire: support 45.9%; oppose 43.8%; don’t know/no answer 10.3%
- Require city workers to work for a longer period of time before retiring: support 48.0%; oppose 37.9%; don’t know/no answer 14.1%
- Raise the amount of co-payment city workers pay for health insurance: support 42.4%; oppose 46.1%; don’t know/no answer 11.5%
The poll was conducted be researches at the Alfred Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Institutions and the John Hazen White Public Opinion Laboratory. I’m not insinuating the “Public Opinion Laboratory” that bears his name would push his politics, but Hazen White isn’t exactly a neutral actor in efforts to cut pensions.
Plus, according to the press release, the poll was “undertaken in conjunction with” the Center’s annual conference in October. This year’s topic, by the way, is: “Pensions in Peril: How Municipalities Are Defusing This Fiscal Time Bomb.”
I’m sure the John Hazen White Public Opinion Laboratory wouldn’t want to go into the conference on how pensions are a “time bomb” without some data to show that the people of Providence agree. And it seems like it asked a pretty baited question in order to get such a result.
It is really too bad Brown screwed up this poll so bad. The generally good numbers for the Mayor are interesting given his approach to pension problems (ie, find a negotiated settlement).
So the gutting of taxes paid by the elite at the Federal and State level has nothing to do with municipal finance?
So the collapse of the economy has no causal relationship?
No..see if they DID they we wouldn’t be able to blame teachers, cops, fire fighters and city workers and thus use them as a political wedge issue.
Great post Bob.
I’ve been hired by the Taubman Center a number of times to make these calls (work-study is work-study) and the offensive content stretches beyond just pensions. I remember a particularly bad survey with push questions about undocumented immigrants…
You find the work to be offensive yet you continue to work there and take money from them? Sorry but if you find it offensive, this isn’t the only work-study job that they offer. Why not quit and do something you’re more comfortable with?
That aside, as to the question of the “push poll”, why can’t pollsters simply ask something to the effect of, ”With regard to the pension system in Rhode Island and in Providence, which of the following items would you 1) support or 2) oppose to control or reduce spending on municipal pensions?”
Otherwise, why not ask people, “Knowing that 2 plus 2 equals 5, what do you think of the quality of math education in Rhode Island? What’s your opinion of high school math teachers?”
It’s often my second or third campus job, and I need the money. Agree on your format for the pension question, though.
Why a “push poll”? The purpose of this poll is to determine what methods people would support to control municipal pension spending, not whether there is a pension crisis, or who is to blame for budget shortfalls. You want someone who opposes a certain “solution” to oppose it becuase they don’t like the solution, not because they don’t think there is a pension problem top begin with.
This is in line with the conference topic, which is solutions to the pension crisis, not is there a pension crisis.
If this were the set up for the question of whether there is a pension crises, or whether pensions were to blame for budget shortfalls, then it would be an unfair set up.
Sully’s comment is relevant. However, the problem, as I see it, is that the pollster didn’t set up the conference context first before asking the question….Something like, Cities and towns in Rhode Island and across the country are facing unprecedented budget shortfalls to which unfunded pension liabilities for firefighters, police officers, and other city workers have contributed. In October The Taubman Center at Brown Univeristy will be hosting a conference on “Pensions in Peril: How Municipalities Are Defusing This Fiscal Time Bomb.” I’m going to mentinon some suggestions that have been made to address municipal pensions. Tell me if you would 1) support or 2) oppose each, to control spending on municipal pensions?