A troubled economy and budget woes have brought favorable views of state governments down 9 percentage points to just 50%. The decline in opinion is sharpest in states with large and moderate budget shortfalls. Americans in states with high budget gaps are the most negative (38% favorable, 58% unfavorable), while those in states with modest budget gaps have also seen a sharp decline in positive opinion toward state governments (52% favorable, down from 64% last year). Those in states with low budget gaps continue to have a favorable view of state governments (60% favorable, 33% unfavorable), but positive opinion is still down from last year (66% favorable). Read More
Russell Heimlich is a former web developer at Pew Research Center.
