Most Pennsylvanians like the idea of selling liquor stores

    Pennsylvania Gov.-elect Tom Corbett is riding a wave of public support into office, according to a new poll from Quinnipiac University.Nearly six in 10 respondents are optimistic about Corbett taking charge of Pennsylvania’s government.And Peter Brown, assistant poling director, said the support is bipartisan.”Even Democrats on this question, I believe are 45-40 in giving Corbett the benefit of the doubt. Obviously the numbers are much larger among Republicans and independents,” he said. “But there’s a tendency to want to give your leaders the opportunity to succeed.”Sixty-six percent of poll respondents favor selling off state-owned liquor stores to help balance the budget. Union officials, however, said the poll’s question is flawed because it doesn’t mention that Pennsylvania would lose hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue by privatizing the stores.A slim majority supports laying off state workers to bring government costs down, while 52 percent of those polled said they don’t want to see lawmakers lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike to a private company.Given a choice between all those options, as well as raising taxes, the poll shows respondents make privatizing liquor stores their top choice to generate new revenue.

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