UCI

Overall Mood
Three in four residents (78%) rate the Orange County economy today as excellent or good, similar to last year. Ratings of the county's quality of life are even more positive, with 92% now saying things are going "very" or "somewhat" well. Seventy-five percent of homeowners and 57% of renters believe that buying a home in Orange County is an excellent or good investment. Optimists outnumber pessimists by a 15-point margin, with 39% saying the county will be a better place and 24% thinking it will be a worse place to live in the future. The Orange County Consumer Confidence Index now stands at 111, which is the highest score since we began tracking this five-question measure in 1986. The Orange County score surpasses the U.S. index, which is at 105.

Public Policy Issues
Crime is named as the county's most important problem by 27% of residents, followed by schools (18%), traffic (9%), the El Toro airport controversy (9%), growth (7%), and housing and immigration (5% each). While more than half give their local schools excellent or good grades (54%), six in 10 favor tax-supported school vouchers. A narrow majority (52%) favors lowering the barrier to pass school construction bonds from a two-thirds vote to a simple majority, and 51% would vote for a tax increase for their local schools. Twenty-five percent of residents say the current freeway system is satisfactory, and 22% of workers say they experience major traffic problems during their commute—similar to recent years. Three in four residents are satisfied with the way Measure M funds are being spent, and 57% would vote to extend the half-cent sales tax for another 20 years. Sixty-three percent of homeowners and 57% of renters pay more than $750 a month, with housing costs much higher in the South County than in the North. Latinos are far less likely than non-Hispanic whites to be homeowners or live in single-family dwellings. The county continues to be divided about the El Toro re-use plans: 42% favor the proposal to transform the base into an international airport, while 46% are opposed.

Civic and Political Life
Many Orange County residents are distrustful of the government in Washington: only 28% think that it can be trusted to do what is right "always" or "most of the time", 55% believe that it wastes a lot of the taxpayers' money; 63% say that it is pretty much run by a few big interests; 56% say that people like themselves don’t have any say in government; and only 30% believe that elections make the government pay "a good deal" of attention to what the people think. On several dimensions, Orange County residents are more distrustful than the rest of the nation. Latinos are less cynical than non-Hispanic whites on all of the distrust measures. Ratings of local government have held steady since last year: 50% think their city government does an excellent or good job; 40% think the county government does an excellent or good job; 62% think county government leaders pay a lot or some attention to what the people think; and 35% believe the county wastes a lot of taxpayers' money. Few Orange County residents say they are "very involved" in volunteer work (18%), working on local issues (11%), political activities (6%), or state and national issues (5%). Fewer than half of county residents (46%) read a local newspaper every day — less than the national average — while almost two-thirds (62%) tune in to local television news on a daily basis. More than half of residents say their politics are middle-of-the-road to somewhat conservative, similar among Latinos and non-Hispanic whites alike. Three-quarters of residents say they are registered to vote, half say they always vote in elections, four in 10 say they follow public affairs most of the time, and one in six say they have a great deal of interest in politics. The level of political involvement is sharply lower, however, among Latinos and younger adults.