Texas Spending on Prisons and the Penal System (February 2023)

Texas Spending on Prisons and the Penal System (February 2023)

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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 much25%
About the right amount29%
Too little25%
Don't know/No opinion20%
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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 much33%29%17%
About the right amount18%31%42%
Too little32%15%20%
Don't know/No opinion17%26%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." 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 much33%34%33%
About the right amount10%26%16%
Too little40%25%33%
Don't know/No opinion16%15%17%
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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 much23%12%17%
About the right amount40%40%44%
Too little16%18%22%
Don't know/No opinion20%29%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." 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 much40%18%20%
About the right amount12%34%38%
Too little31%24%21%
Don't know/No opinion16%23%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." 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 much37%42%40%
About the right amount16%14%8%
Too little28%30%36%
Don't know/No opinion19%14%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." 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 much26%19%16%
About the right amount25%39%45%
Too little23%21%19%
Don't know/No opinion26%20%20%
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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 much25%21%26%
About the right amount32%23%25%
Too little25%30%26%
Don't know/No opinion18%26%23%
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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 much26%24%
About the right amount32%27%
Too little30%22%
Don't know/No opinion12%27%
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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 much25%26%22%
About the right amount25%30%33%
Too little32%22%22%
Don't know/No opinion17%21%23%
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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 much30%30%23%20%
About the right amount24%28%28%37%
Too little26%21%29%25%
Don't know/No opinion21%22%20%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." Education is calculated according to the EDUC variable.
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CategoryNo HSHigh school graduateSome college2-year4-yearPost-grad
Too much6%17%29%22%29%36%
About the right amount46%35%27%25%30%20%
Too little37%29%20%30%23%25%
Don't know/No opinion12%20%25%23%17%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 much19%24%31%36%
About the right amount36%28%30%17%
Too little24%27%25%25%
Don't know/No opinion21%22%14%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." 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 much19%21%44%16%
About the right amount37%33%16%16%
Too little25%25%25%30%
Don't know/No opinion19%21%15%38%

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