A new Zogby poll on contracting preferences finds that when it comes to awarding government contracts, the majority favors the (rather common sense) approach of awarding contracts to the lowest qualified bidder. Â Of course, those who have experience with the thorny thicket of government contracting rules know that this is far from the norm. Â We’ve written in this space about the prevalence of preferences for minority businesses (specifically Native Hawaiian and Native Alaskan) and that’s just the beginning.
However, the poll found that overall, only 34% favored preferences for women or minority-owned businesses (though unsurprisingly, that number shifted according to certain demographic factors), and there was a decided bias for awarding state contracts to businesses within that state or federal contracts to businesses within the country. Â On the whole, women were more likely to favor preferences than men and older respondents were more likely to support preferences in general.
In the latest Grassroot Institute newsletter, we had our own poll question on preferences–namely whether you think that the government grants listed on this site should continue. Â If you haven’t had the chance to vote yet, be sure to visit the poll and do so–we’ll keep you updated on the results.