The Machinations Have Begun

State employees have begun their defense against possible budget cuts with the release of poll results under the headline "Voters Value Connecticut Public Service Workers and Services--No Appetite for Layoffs or Cuts." The first thing to notice is that for the purposes of the polling questions they are "public service workers" rather than "state employees." The second thing to notice is that the poll asked respondents whether they'd like to see service cuts in health care, education or road maintenance (the answer of course was no) or layoffs (again, naturally no one likes to see other people get laid off). One question that wasn't asked of the Connecticut public is something along the lines of "Would you support a one-year freeze on state employee salaries and other compensation?" This question might have yielded more interesting results and gotten closer to the truth of the way people feel. But why conduct a poll if you can't direct the results in your favor?