Tennesseans Want State Money To Go To People Hurt By Pandemic

By Bruce Dobie, for Tennessee Lookout

February 19, 2021

A statewide Tennessee Power Poll shows respondents want our state government to spend more money helping people hard hit by the economy and COVID-19 and whatever else is descending on us these days. Many fewer are in favor of the governor’s proposal to set aside $50 million in these troubled times for our “rainy day fund,” which acts as our state’s emergency reserve fund.

Respondents in this February survey also disagree with Gov. Bill Lee’s proposal to allow people to carry handguns without a permit. Asked for their general impression of Lee’s job performance so far, Power Poll respondents—which are weighted heavily among the state’s big urban areas that count significant numbers of Democrats—view him disapprovingly.

Meanwhile, the business interests among Power Poll’s membership showed their teeth when asked about hiking the state’s minimum wage. While many left-leaning Democrats voice support for an immediate increase in the minimum wage to $15 an hour, the largest number of Power Poll members favor doing so but over several years. A considerable number also think $15 is too high to begin with. (The current federal minimum wage is $7.25.)

A total of 2,174 Power Poll members in Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Nashville, and various rural counties across the state were surveyed, with 731 responding, for a response rate of 33.62%. In Nashville, 706 were surveyed, and 370 responded, for a response rate of 52.41%.

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Bruce Dobie is the founder and CEO of Power Poll. Power Poll surveys influential and powerful people in 20 cites across the United States. Its results afford a fascinating glimpse into what’s in the minds of those who run our cities, states and nation.

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit network of state government news sites supported by grants and a coalition of donors.