A majority of North Carolinians say the uncivil discourse that’s come to dominate political debate is hurting the country, according to a new poll.
A survey of 800 registered voters earlier this month found that 86% agreed with the statement, “Political debate is a healthy process, but the current tone and tenor is only dividing the county and making matters worse.”
A few results from the poll were released Tuesday at an event meant to demonstrate reasoned debate.
Healthier United, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public health advocacy group, sponsored the poll. The organization has a project called Disagree Healthier, a practice that is important to democracy and individuals, said Jake Williams, Healthier United CEO.
“We believe that it is important for our own individual well-being,” Williams said. “Many studies and polls have shown that people are experiencing a lot of stress in their own lives with their families and their friends because of this inability to disagree in a healthier way,” he said.
The poll, conducted by Republican political consultant Paul Shumaker and Democratic consultant Morgan Jackson, found that more than half of those surveyed agreed with the statement, “I have found myself withholding my political opinions for fear of upsetting a friend, family member, or co-worker.”
Two legislators, Rep. Grant Campbell (R-Cabarrus) and Sen. Mujtaba Mohammed (D-Mecklenburg) debated health topics at the event.
Their first question: If legislative passage was guaranteed, but they still had to consider budget realities, what policies would they enact to improve health outcomes in the state and how would they pay for it?
Mohammed said he would supply $319 million to make up for the state’s Medicaid shortfall.
The 3.1 million people on Medicaid “are the most vulnerable, neighbors, friends, family members, community people, young children, people with intellectual developmental disabilities, our seniors,’ he said. “For me, I believe that’s what the General Assembly should come back and address.”
Pausing the scheduled individual or corporate tax cuts would help cover Medicaid costs, he said. The corporate income tax is being phased out and the rate will drop to zero in four years.
Campbell said he would use $5 billion over five years to improve rural healthcare.
“We need to address the workforce shortages in healthcare,” he said.
Campbell said that under his plan, North Carolina could make the improvements without spending any state money.
Campbell said he would use money from the Rural Health Transformation Program, a federal initiative that could bring more than $1.1 billion to the state over five years. The rest, he said, would come from identifying fraud and waste in the Medicaid program, and from savings produced by further limiting the certificate of need program, which would then require less oversight.
“If we do all of that, that five-year plan, $5 billion, will cost the state nothing,” Campbell said. “It will be free.”
He’d put half the money toward expanding university system medical school class sizes, and helping community colleges to educate more nurses and allied health professionals.
The state would work with the federal government to expand primary care residency programs, and to find ways to convince those doctors to stay in rural areas when their loans are repaid.
“We need to look outside the box,” Campbell said, perhaps by offering low-interest loans for doctors to build rural practices, or low-interest mortgages.
“We have counties that do not have hospitals,” he said. “We have patients that have to travel over an hour to find any healthcare provider.”
More poll results will be released Friday, featuring responses to questions about healthcare, mental health, vaccines and politics.
In the poll preview, Shumaker said a question gauging the level of interest in voting this year among Republicans, Democrats and unaffiliated voters found Democrats more intensely interested.
The long-range look points to a big Democratic win in November, Shumaker said, but there’s still time for political dynamics to shift.
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