Poll: 46% Oppose More Government Regulation of Financial System, 37% Favor

Rasmussen Reports
May. 27, 2010

Forty-six percent (46%) of Americans oppose more government regulation of the U.S. financial system as Congress pushes through such legislation in hopes of having it for President Obama to sign into law by July 4.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 37% favor such regulation, while another 17% are undecided.

These findings are comparable to June of last year when the president first proposed more government oversight to avoid a repeat of the fall 2008 Wall Street meltdown. Opposition peaked at 52% in December.

There's also been little change in the views toward two key provisions of the new regulatory legislation. Twenty-seven percent (27%) are in favor of giving the Federal Reserve Board more regulatory control over the U.S. financial system, but nearly half (49%) of Adults oppose that idea. Twenty-four percent (24%) are not sure.

Forty-five percent (45%) now favor the creation of a new government agency to regulate what banks, mortgage lenders and credit card companies offer Americans. That's up six points from last June. Thirty-seven percent (37%) oppose the creation of this new agency. Seventeen percent (17%) aren't sure.

But then just 27% of voters are at least somewhat confident that Congress knows what it's doing when it comes to addressing current economic problems. An overwhelming majority (72%) are not confident in Congress to address these problems.

The survey of 1,000 U.S. Adults was conducted on May 21-22, 2010 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 method

Generally speaking, 43% of Americans think the federal government is more concerned with making Wall Street firms profitable than with making sure the financial system works well for all Americans. This marks a slight increase from February. Thirty-two percent (32%) say the government is more interested in making the financial system work well. Twenty-four percent (24%) are not sure.

Investors are evenly divided over the need for the new agency but are more supportive of increased government regulation than non-investors are.

Sixty percent (60%) of Democrats favor more government regulation of the U.S. financial system, while 73% of Republicans and a plurality (47%) of adults not affiliated with either party are opposed.

Democrats are less excited about giving the Fed more regulatory control, however. Forty-two percent (42%) like the idea, but 29% oppose it. Most Republicans (71%) and 50% of unaffiliateds oppose more regulatory oversight by the Fed.

Democrats strongly support the creation of a new agency to regulate what banks, mortgage lenders and credit card companies offer Americans; most Republicans oppose it. Unaffiliated adults are almost evenly divided.

Republicans and unaffiliateds are more inclined than Democrats to think the government is more concerned with making Wall Street profitable rather than in ensuring that that financial system works well for all Americans. Investors are less skeptical of the government's motivation than non-investors.

Only 42% of Americans express confidence in the stability of the U.S. banking system, but most aren't worried that they'll lose their own money because of a bank failure. Fifty-four percent (54%) lack confidence in the U.S. banking system.

Before the 2008 meltdown began in the fall of 2008, 68% expressed confidence in the banking system.

Looking back, most voters still believe the bailout of the financial sector was a bad idea. This may be one reason why 57% of voters have more confidence in the judgment of a member of Congress who voted against bailouts than in the judgment of one who voted for them.

The number of voters who blame the Bush administration for the nation's current economic problems has reached its lowest level measured to date. Trust in Obama's economic judgment has hit a new low as well.