By Steve Peoples

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- While Governor Carcieri's popularity has suffered through much of his second term in office, most Rhode Island voters do not blame the Republican governor for the state's budget problems.

A WPRI-TV, Channel 12 poll released Friday evening reveals that just 15 percent of voters believe Carcieri is responsible for Rhode Island government's "budget crisis."

Fifty-three percent blame the General Assembly, while another 25 percent blame budget problems on both the Democrat-dominated legislature and the governor.

The poll did not ask voters whom they blamed for Rhode Island's anemic economy, which has among the highest unemployment rates in the nation. A majority (57 percent), however, said that labor unions have too much influence in state government.

Spokesmen for the state House and Senate declined to comment on the survey results.

Poll author Joseph Fleming notes that most people are simply angry with their elected officials given Rhode Island's prolonged economic problems.

The widespread frustration is clear in another of the poll's findings: 70 percent of voters believe the state is moving in the wrong direction. That's on par with a mid-December poll released by Brown University.

The WPRI-TV poll of 501 registered voters was conducted between Jan. 27 and 31 with a margin of error of generally around 4.4 percent.

Fleming offered voters two options for solving the state's budget problems: tax increases or cutting spending and services. Respondents overwhelmingly (61 percent) selected cutting spending and services, while just 14 percent favored tax increases.

The poll didn't ask voters which specific cuts they would support. For example, the governor has currently proposed cutting more than $280 million from local communities and public education over the next 17 months.