Information on occupation tax for education, an influence on voting patterns: an experiment

• Main Author: Schell, Lamar
• Format: Others
• Published: DigitalCommons@Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center 1986
• Subjects: Education
• Online Access: http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/dissertations/2387; http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3664&context=dissertations

This dissertation illustrates, experimentally, how the voting patterns of a population can be changed by an informative presentation. In 1979 an occupational tax was brought before the citizens of Atlanta, Georgia and it was voted down. There are many indications that this tax would be an excellent source of income for a city such as Atlanta. Because of certain factors, a new source of income for public education will be needed through the eighties and nineties, particularly for regions of the country like Georgia. Some of the factors that will influence educational finance are: 1. changes in the Federal Government's finance policy to public schools, 2. The influences from pressure groups on financing public education, 3. The projected future funding for public education, and finally, why should professional educators be concerned with a topic as political as changing voting patterns? Two groups of people from Atlanta were given an instrument designed to determine if they would vote for or against the occupation tax. The first group was given the instrument without any type of briefing beforehand and the second group was given a presentation before completing the instrument. The presentation showed the many benefits of the occupation tax to people who live in Atlanta. The first group (control) voted against the tax and the second group (experimental) voted for the tax. This experiment illustrated that voting patterns of a population could be changed by an informative presentation. It is hoped that this dissertation will add to the factual knowledge that educators need to know about voting patterns. It is also hoped that this paper makes the public aware of an alternative revenue for financing public education.