A recent state-wide poll indicates Michigan voters prefer any road funding budget not come at the expense of education and teacher retirement pensions.
As Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the state legislature negotiate increasing road and bridge repair funding, a survey by Lansing-based EPIC-MRA indicates 77 percent of Michigan voters say it’s important teachers and their retirement pensions be protected from any budget deal.
The poll commissioned by the Coalition for Secure Retirement surveyed 600 registered Michigan voters; 42-percent identified as a Democrat and 39-percent Republican.
When asked about a plan to replace the six cents sales tax at the pump with a 15 cent per gallon gas tax increase – and with all the funding going to roads instead of $800 million to schools and local governments, three-in-four voters oppose that idea.
As for teacher benefits, 70 percent of voters surveyed say they are paid too little and nearly eight-in-10 too little in benefits.
Patrick Center, WGVU News.