Texas Spending on Prisons and the Penal System (February 2021)

Texas Spending on Prisons and the Penal System (February 2021)

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    Respondents were asked, "Thinking about state spending, do you think that Texas state government spends too much, too little, or about the right amount on each of the following? Prisons and the penal system."
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categoryTotal
Too much32%
About the right amount32%
Too little17%
Don't know/No opinion19%
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    Respondents were asked, "Thinking about state spending, do you think that Texas state government spends too much, too little, or about the right amount on each of the following? Prisons and the penal system." Measurement of Party ID for this figure is based on two questions. First, respondents were asked whether they consider themselves to be a Democrats, Republicans, independents, other, or not sure. Those who responded that they are independents or "other" were then asked if they lean toward either the Democrats or Republicans. If they indicated that they lean toward one party or the other, they are considered Democrats or Republicans for the purposes of this figure. Only "pure" independents or members of a third party who indicate that they have no preference for Democrats vis-a-vis Republicans are considered independents. Respondents who answered that they are "not sure" for either of the two aforementioned questions are not incorporated into this figure.
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CategoryDemocratIndependentRepublican
Too much39%35%25%
About the right amount22%30%42%
Too little21%12%14%
Don't know/No opinion18%23%19%
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    Respondents were asked, "Thinking about state spending, do you think that Texas state government spends too much, too little, or about the right amount on each of the following? Prisons and the penal system." Party identification is calculated according to the PID7 variable, a seven point scale of party identification.
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CategoryLean DemocratNot very strong DemocratStrong Democrat
Too much56%33%32%
About the right amount13%22%27%
Too little13%24%24%
Don't know/No opinion18%20%16%
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    Respondents were asked, "Thinking about state spending, do you think that Texas state government spends too much, too little, or about the right amount on each of the following? Prisons and the penal system." Party identification is calculated according to the PID7 variable, a seven point scale of party identification.
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CategoryLean RepublicanNot very strong RepublicanStrong Republican
Too much26%19%28%
About the right amount38%39%46%
Too little15%18%11%
Don't know/No opinion21%24%15%
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    Respondents were asked, "Thinking about state spending, do you think that Texas state government spends too much, too little, or about the right amount on each of the following? Prisons and the penal system." Ideology is measured on a scale of 1-7, with 1 corresponding to "extremely liberal", 7 corresponding to "extremely conservative, and 4 corresponding to "in the middle." For the purposes of this table, respondents who placed themselves at or between points 1 and 3 on the scale are considered "liberal," respondents who placed themselves at point 4 on the scale are considered "moderate," and respondents who placed themselves at or between points 5 and 7 on the scale are considered conservative.
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CategoryLiberalsModeratesConservatives
Too much47%24%25%
About the right amount17%30%45%
Too little20%18%14%
Don't know/No opinion16%28%15%
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    Respondents were asked, "Thinking about state spending, do you think that Texas state government spends too much, too little, or about the right amount on each of the following? Prisons and the penal system." Ideology is measured on a scale of 1-7, with 1 corresponding to "extremely liberal", 7 corresponding to "extremely conservative, and 4 corresponding to "in the middle." For the purposes of this table, respondents who placed themselves at or between points 1 and 3 on the scale are considered "liberal," respondents who placed themselves at point 4 on the scale are considered "moderate," and respondents who placed themselves at or between points 5 and 7 on the scale are considered conservative.
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CategoryLean liberalSomewhat liberalExtremely liberal
Too much38%45%58%
About the right amount16%24%8%
Too little20%18%24%
Don't know/No opinion26%14%10%
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    Respondents were asked, "Thinking about state spending, do you think that Texas state government spends too much, too little, or about the right amount on each of the following? Prisons and the penal system." Ideology is measured on a scale of 1-7, with 1 corresponding to "extremely liberal", 7 corresponding to "extremely conservative, and 4 corresponding to "in the middle." For the purposes of this table, respondents who placed themselves at or between points 1 and 3 on the scale are considered "liberal," respondents who placed themselves at point 4 on the scale are considered "moderate," and respondents who placed themselves at or between points 5 and 7 on the scale are considered conservative.
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CategoryLean conservativeSomewhat conservativeExtremely conservative
Too much36%24%22%
About the right amount32%50%44%
Too little10%14%17%
Don't know/No opinion22%12%16%
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    Respondents were asked, "Thinking about state spending, do you think that Texas state government spends too much, too little, or about the right amount on each of the following? Prisons and the penal system." Race is calculated according to the race variable.
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CategoryWhiteBlackHispanic
Too much36%28%23%
About the right amount33%27%34%
Too little15%27%19%
Don't know/No opinion16%18%24%
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    Respondents were asked, "Thinking about state spending, do you think that Texas state government spends too much, too little, or about the right amount on each of the following? Prisons and the penal system." Gender is calculated according to the GENDER variable.
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CategoryMaleFemale
Too much34%30%
About the right amount36%29%
Too little14%20%
Don't know/No opinion16%21%
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    Respondents were asked, "Thinking about state spending, do you think that Texas state government spends too much, too little, or about the right amount on each of the following? Prisons and the penal system." Community type is based on the following question, " Would you say that you live in an urban, suburban, or rural community?"
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CategoryUrbanSuburbanRural
Too much31%33%30%
About the right amount30%33%34%
Too little21%15%16%
Don't know/No opinion18%19%19%
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    Respondents were asked, "Thinking about state spending, do you think that Texas state government spends too much, too little, or about the right amount on each of the following? Prisons and the penal system." Age is calculated according to the AGEG variable.
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Category18-2930-4445-6465+
Too much28%44%30%23%
About the right amount26%24%34%48%
Too little24%13%17%15%
Don't know/No opinion22%19%19%15%
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    Respondents were asked, "Thinking about state spending, do you think that Texas state government spends too much, too little, or about the right amount on each of the following? Prisons and the penal system." Education is calculated according to the EDUC variable.
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CategoryNo HSHigh school graduateSome college2-year4-yearPost-grad
Too much33%21%33%31%37%44%
About the right amount25%41%30%29%31%26%
Too little27%19%15%24%16%12%
Don't know/No opinion15%19%22%17%16%19%
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    Respondents were asked, "Thinking about state spending, do you think that Texas state government spends too much, too little, or about the right amount on each of the following? Prisons and the penal system." Religiosity is calculated according to the IMPORT variable.
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CategoryExtremely importantSomewhat importantNot very importantNot at all important
Too much25%28%41%46%
About the right amount38%35%25%22%
Too little19%15%19%14%
Don't know/No opinion18%22%15%18%
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    Respondents were asked, "Thinking about state spending, do you think that Texas state government spends too much, too little, or about the right amount on each of the following? Prisons and the penal system." Fundamentalism is calculated according to the LITERAL variable.
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CategoryThe Bible is the actual word of God and is to be taken literally, word for word.The Bible is the word of God but not everything in it should be taken literally, word for word.The Bible is a book written by men and is not the word of God.Don't know.
Too much23%27%52%22%
About the right amount41%36%20%23%
Too little19%17%14%20%
Don't know/No opinion17%19%14%36%

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