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发帖数: 29846 | 1 Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Americans feel more strongly than ever that the government is more concerned
with making Wall Street firms profitable than making the financial system
work for the rest of us.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 50% of
Adults believe the federal government is more concerned with making Wall
Street firms profitable than with making sure the U.S. financial system
works well for all Americans. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
That’s up 12 points from 38% in June. But in September 2009, after some
Wall Street firms began reporting sizable profits, 46% felt this way.
Thirty-one percent (31%) of adults now take the opposite view and say the
government cares more about making the financial system work for all
Americans, a number that has shifted little over the past year. Another 19%
are undecided.
As for the government bailouts of the financial industry that began when the
Wall Street meltdown broke into the headlines in September 2008, 81% of
Americans say Wall Street, not taxpayers benefited more. Only seven percent
(7%) say the average taxpayer benefited more from the bailouts, while 12%
are undecided.
These numbers have changed little from July 2009 just after Goldman-Sachs
announced that it had recovered and was reporting a record profit. Prior to
that, in February 2009, just 67% thought Wall Street benefited more from the
bailouts than the average taxpayer.
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls).
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The survey of 1,000 Adults nationwide was conducted on January 14-15, 2011
by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage
points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports
surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Voters have consistently viewed the bailout of banks and other financial
institutions as a bad idea, most recently in July of last year when 56% felt
that way.
Most Americans (67%) continue to believe that most of the bailout money went
to the same people who created the economic crisis in the first place,
showing little change from past polling. Twelve percent (12%) disagree with
this assertion, but 21% more are not sure.
Most Republicans and adults not affiliated with either major political party
believe the federal government puts Wall Street's profitability ahead of
making sure the financial system works well for all Americans. A plurality
of Democrats (47%) takes the opposite view.
Fifty-eight percent (58%) of non-investors think the government puts Wall
Street first, but investors are more narrowly divided on the question.
However, 85% of investors believe Wall Street benefited more from the
government bailouts than the average taxpayer did, a view shared by 76% of
non-investors. Two-thirds of both groups say most of the bailout money went
to the people who created the economic crisis.
Voters overwhelmingly believe that government and big business often work
together in ways that hurt consumers and investors.
Recent polling shows that most Americans continue to lack confidence in the
U.S. banking system, but they also remain unworried that they will lose
their money due to a bank failure.
The number of adults nationwide who expect a rise in interest rates has
reached its highest level in nearly two years. Most Americans also report
they are paying more for groceries compared to a year ago, and the number
who expect to spend more a year from now is at its highest level in nearly
two years.
The number of voters who rate the economy as a Very Important issue (87%)
has reached its highest level since early August 2008. Voters continue to
trust Republicans more than Democrats on economic issues. |
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