HIGH POINT, N.C., March 7, 2011 ? While political leaders across the country struggle to reduce budget deficits in the aftermath of the Great Recession, the Survey Research Center at High Point University finds that the majority of North Carolina residents want leaders in Washington, D.C. to spend more on education programs but cut foreign aid and welfare programs.
The most recent HPU survey finds that 66 percent of residents of North Carolina say that they would increase education spending in the federal budget. Similarly, 69 percent of North Carolinians say that they would decrease spending on foreign aid and 41 percent say they would decrease spending on welfare programs in general. Entitlement programs such as Medicare and Medicaid had pluralities in favor of increasing spending and fewer than 20 percent of people in favor of decreasing spending.
According to the results, Dr. Martin Kifer, director of the Survey Research Center, says, ?Our survey finds North Carolina residents are willing to invest in education programs even as they are faced with the need to make cuts elsewhere. They also show strong support for entitlement programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security that represent a relatively large proportion of federal spending.?
The High Point University Survey Research Center fielded the survey from Feb. 21-24. The responses came from 401 adults with landline telephones in North Carolina selected by a Random Digit Dial (RDD) method giving the survey a margin of sampling error of approximately 5 percentage points.
Full results and methodological details from the survey can be found at the Survey Research Center Web site, http://src.highpoint.edu/, or from Dr. Martin Kifer, the center?s director, at [email protected] or 336-841-9333.
At High Point University, every student receives an extraordinary education in an inspiring environment with caring people. HPU, located in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina, is a liberal arts institution with over 4,200 undergraduate and graduate students from 51 countries and 46 states at campuses in High Point and Winston-Salem. It is ranked by US News and World Report at No. 3 among Regional Colleges in the South. Forbes.com ranks HPU in the top 7 percent among ?America?s Best Colleges.? Parade Magazine lists HPU in the top 25 private schools in the nation. The university offers 50 undergraduate majors, 42 undergraduate minors and 14 graduate degree programs. It is accredited by the Commission of Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and is a member of the NCAA, Division I and the Big South Conference. Visit High Point University on the Web at highpoint.edu.
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Pam Haynes
Communication Specialist
841-9055
[email protected]