Annual survey finds Hoosiers focused on job creation, reducing crime

The annual Hoosier Survey examines different facets of life in Indiana, and the results are presented to the Indiana General Assembly so lawmakers can use the public’s views to understand common issues.

The survey was conducted from Oct. 8 to Oct. 13 by the Bowen Center for Public Affairs at Ball, and 602 Indiana adults were interviewed.

This year, the survey found the top priorities of Indiana citizens are job creation, improving schools and reducing crime, just as they were in 2014. Issues that rose in importance were the improvement of highways and roads (up 11 percentage points from last year) and protecting the environment (up 5 percentage points from last year).

On a broader scale, 51.4 percent of those surveyed believe Indiana is headed in the “right direction.” Thirty-six percent say the state is on the “wrong track.”

The public's approval ratings of Governor Mike Pence underwent a change this year, dropping to 47 percent, a 15 percentage point drop from last year. Among Republicans specifically, Pence’s approval slipped by 17 percentage points since last year.

Below are the results of questions from other categories.

Jobs

• Fifty-seven percent of Hoosiers express satisfaction with the record of Indiana in attracting jobs to the state.
• Twenty-six percent say they are financially better off today than they were four years ago.
• Forty-five percent believe their financial condition has not much changed over the last four years.
• Sixty-four percent support an increase in the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. This support is greatest among Independents and Democrats, but nearly 46 percent of Republicans also support the measure.

LGBT Rights

• Fifty-seven percent support the inclusion of protections for sexual orientation and gender identity. Large majorities of Independents and Democrats support such legislation, but only 38 percent of Republicans do.
• Fifty-two percent believe that businesses should be required to provide wedding services to same-sex couples regardless of religious reservations.
• Sixty-four percent believe that the media were to blame for adverse public reaction to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) controversy earlier this year rather than the Governor or the General Assembly.

Roads and Infrastructure

• Forty-five percent said funds for roads should come from the general fund.
• Seven percent wanted the funds to come from a mileage tax.
• Fourteen percent supported an increased gasoline tax.

Drugs and Needle Exchange

• Seventy-two percent support expanding a needle exchange program to all Indiana counties in order to prevent the spread of disease.
• Sixty-three percent support treatment over prosecution for people who use illegal drugs. Support for prosecution over treatment, which is at 26 percent, is somewhat stronger in rural areas than in urban and suburban areas.

Schools

• Sixty-seven and a half percent are very or somewhat satisfied with public education.
• Fifty percent believe there is too much emphasis on standardized testing.
• Thirty-nine percent support the use of vouchers for private and charter schools.
• Fifty-eight percent prefer that tax dollars go directly to public schools. This finding holds for Democrats and Independents. There is more support for charter funding among Republicans.

Guns

• Eighty-three percent support measures to prevent the mentally-ill from purchasing guns.
• Eighty-three percent support making private gun sales at gun shows subject to background checks.
• Seventy percent support creating a federal database to track all gun sales. Support holds across political parties, regions of the state, and community type.
• Fifty-one percent support a ban on assault weapon sales, and there is greater variation on this measure across parties and regions.

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