WASHINGTON, D.C. – A new poll, commissioned by the National Taxpayers Union (NTU), demonstrates that both Democratic and Republican state lawmakers should reconsider policies that seek to prioritize political preferences over the needs of taxpayers. The topline results reveal that more than two-thirds of voters, including 60% of Republicans, believe governments should contract with companies based on their reputation, cost, and quality, regardless of their internal practices or unrelated business decisions.
The poll, which was fielded from April 30 – May 2, 2024 using a sample size of 1,000 registered voters with a margin of error of +/-3.53%, found voters overwhelmingly believe that state government officials should base decisions on whether to do business with private companies on their reliability, cost, quality, and reputation, rather than their stance on environmental, social, or political issues.
“These poll results demonstrate that voters across the ideological spectrum want their government officials to make decisions based on business factors, not politics,” said Pete Sepp, President of NTU. “It’s clear that voters don’t want their tax dollars being used to push political agendas or punish companies for their private business decisions. Rather, voters want state government officials to secure the best goods and services at the lowest possible cost to taxpayers. State lawmakers and policymakers who are concerned about taxpayers should heed the strong findings of this poll and avoid wasting precious resources on ideological posturing.”
Key Findings
- More than 90% of voters agree that state government officials should not use taxpayer dollars to push personal political agendas.
- 75% of voters believe that state governments should not punish companies for their private business decisions.
- Nearly two-thirds of voters say state government officials should not refuse to do business with companies that support progressive policies on issues like climate change and diversity.
- By a wide 22% margin, voters believe their state’s politicians should not punish businesses for making independent decisions that can be perceived as politically divisive.
- When voters hear arguments for or against policies related to ESG, they side with not prohibiting companies from doing business with the state by more than 30 points.
Efforts at the state level to prohibit companies with ESG policies from doing business with state and local governments have led to reduced competition and higher costs for taxpayers. Laws in Texas to blacklist certain companies, for example, are projected to cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
“These anti-competitive policies hinder our nation’s free market values and saddle hardworking American taxpayers with the burden,” said Sepp. “Large majorities of voters across the spectrum agree that contracting laws prioritizing politics are a risky course for taxpayers – their leaders should recognize this fact and chart a saner direction.”
Survey results and a survey memo issued by Public Opinion Strategies can be accessed here and here, respectively.
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