Cal Voters for Obamacare; Back Increasing Tobacco Tax and Wages

A new Field Poll released this week sheds some interesting light on California's progressive attitudes regarding health care. It finds strong and growing support for the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), and for expanding Medi-Cal health services to the state's undocumented residents. An expanded Field Poll release also shows registered voters in the Golden State overwhelmingly in favor of an initiative proposal to raise the cigarette tax by $2 a pack to provide more money for health care. The same survey finds even higher support for a hefty increase in the state's minimum wage. The independent, non-partisan Field Poll, established by Mervin Field in 1947 as the California Poll, has long been the most accurate ongoing assessment of political opinion in California.  

The Affordable Care Act is growing in popularity in California. 62% say they favor the law, and only 33% oppose it. The survey found that "Opinions about this cross party lines, and include not only large majorities of Democrats and no party preference voters, but a plurality of Republicans as well." This is likely based on an even stronger favorable perception of the ACA's implementation here, as Covered California. "More than two in three voters (68%) believe that the state's implementation of the ACA in California been successful, while just 20% believe it has not."

The Medi-Cal question found that 58% of registered voters agreed with covering undocumented immigrants not eligible for ACA, against 39% opposed. Last year's numbers were 51% to 45%, evidencing that the humanitarian progressive bent in California opinion is gathering strength.

In May health and labor groups introduced an initiative to hike cigarette taxes by $2 a pack and use the expected $1.5 billion in new revenue to increase reimbursement rates and expand coverage to more people for Medi-Cal. The SEIU union, California Medical Association, California Dental Association and American Cancer Society have thus far raised $2 million to advance the measure.  Field Poll found California voters backing the idea 67% to 30%, with 50% of all voters saying they "strongly favor" the increase. Another 17% say the "somewhat favor" the higher tax. California presently taxes cigarettes 87 cents a pack, a lower rate than 30 other states.

The California minimum wage was raised legislatively from $8 to $9 on July 1, 2014 and will go up to $10 on January 1, 2016. The new proposal would hike it by an additional $1 an hour every year for the next five years, to $15 an hour by 2021. State voters strongly approve, 68% to 30%.

If California goes ahead and implements these ideas it will provide an interesting large-scale test case for the nation as a whole. Here's hoping they all pass.