ORANGE COUNTY ANNUAL SURVEY 1997

Introduction 

This sixteenth report of the Orange County Annual
Survey, UCI examines several topics of relevance in            
Orange County. We continue to track trends over
time in the county’s social, economic and political
arenas. We also have a special focus on the proposed
airport, local public schools, charitable behavior and
attitudes, and political orientation.
                            
Here are the questions we seek to answer in the 1997                            
survey:
                             
1.Have ratings of the Orange County economy,                                 
quality of life and expectations for the future                                 
shown any change in the past year?
                              
2.Are residents’ attitudes toward the county                                 
government improving over time?                    
          
3.Is there public support for building a commercial                                 
airport at the site of the closing El Toro Marine                                 
Corps Air Station? What would residents most                                 
prefer to do with the base? How do they want                                 
to meet the county’s air travel needs? Do they                                 
approve of the county government's handling of                                 
this issue? 
                              
4.How do residents rate the local public schools?                                 
Are they willing to pay higher taxes for school                                 
improvements? Would they consider changing                                 
voting requirements for increasing school taxes                                 
and school bonds from a two-thirds majority to                                 
a simple majority? 
                              
5.What are the recent trends in consumer                                 
confidence? How do Latinos and high-income                                 
residents view their personal finances and the                                 
future prospects for the economy? 
                              
6.What are the most important public policy                                 
problems in Orange County today? What social                                 
problems top the list of residents’ concerns? 
                              
7.Have perceptions of owning a home in Orange                                 
County continued to improve among                                 
homeowners and renters? What are the trends in                                 
housing payments? 
                              
8.What are the trends in commuting perceptions                                 
and freeway attitudes? How do residents rate                                 
the way Measure M transportation sales tax                                 
funds are being used? 
                              
9.What are the major motivating factors for giving                                 
time and money to charitable causes? How                                 
many residents give through payroll deductions,                                 
claim charitable deductions on their federal                                 
income taxes or have left a bequest to a charity                                 
in a will? How many have been asked to give to                                 
charities? How does the county compare to the                                 
nation? How much money did residents donate                                 
last year, and how many volunteered their time                                 
to charities? 
                             
10.How do political attitudes in Orange County                                 
differ from those in national surveys? Do                                 
Latinos express opinions that are in the political                                 
mainstream for Orange County? 

                            
In analyzing the 1997 survey, we compare this year's                            
results to previous surveys. We consider differences                            
in survey responses by age, income, region and other                            
subgroups. When possible, we also contrast Orange                            
County attitudes with those found in national surveys.