The Politics of Tax and Expenditure Limitations: An Analysis of Public Opinion, Voting Behavior and the Campaigns in Four States. Working Paper No. 25.

This paper presents the results of an investigation into the issue of statewide tax and expenditure limitations (TELs). Through the use of public opinion surveys and case studies of the campaigns, the author explains the politics of the TEL issue. Chapter 1 uses a multivariate analysis to determine whether or not differences exist in the voting behavior of the public across various types of TEL proposals. Chapter 2 uses a bivariate approach to discover the relationship between the statewide context of political opinion and the vote on the initiatives in the states of Michigan and Colorado. Finally, chapter 3 examines the impact of the campaigns on TEL elections in the states of Oregon and Idaho. The findings indicate that the "tax revolt" is not a monolithic movement that is sweeping the country. According to the paper, voters are interested in the TEL issue and are relatively sophisticated in their views. (Author/LD)