In U.S., Fear of Big Government at Near-Record Level

WaveCameCrashin

In U.S., Fear of Big Government at Near-Record Level

Democrats lead increase in concerns about big government
by Elizabeth Mendes


http://www.gallup.com/poll/151490/Fear- ... Level.aspx

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans' concerns about the threat of big government continue to dwarf those about big business and big labor, and by an even larger margin now than in March 2009. The 64% of Americans who say big government will be the biggest threat to the country is just one percentage point shy of the record high, while the 26% who say big business is down from the 32% recorded during the recession. Relatively few name big labor as the greatest threat.


Historically, Americans have always been more concerned about big government than big business or big labor in response to this trend question dating back to 1965. Concerns about big business surged to a high of 38% in 2002, after the large-scale accounting scandals at Enron and WorldCom. An all-time-high 65% of Americans named big government as the greatest threat in 1999 and 2000. Worries about big labor have declined significantly over the years, from a high of 29% in 1965 to the 8% to 11% range over the past decade and a half.

Democrats Lead Increase in Concern About Big Government

Almost half of Democrats now say big government is the biggest threat to the nation, more than say so about big business, and far more than were concerned about big government in March 2009. The 32% of Democrats concerned about big government at that time -- shortly after President Obama took office -- was down significantly from a reading in 2006, when George W. Bush was president.

By contrast, 82% of Republicans and 64% of independents today view big government as the biggest threat, slightly higher percentages than Gallup found in 2009.

Lower percentages of Democrats, Republicans, and independents are now concerned about big business than was the case in 2009.



Bottom Line

Americans' concerns about the threat of big government are near record-high levels. The Occupy Wall Street movement, focused on "fighting back against the corrosive power of major banks and multinational corporations," has drawn much attention and a large following. Still, the majority of Americans do not view big business as the greatest threat to the country when asked to choose among big business, big government, and big labor. In fact, Americans' concerns about big business have declined significantly since 2009.

Additionally, while Occupy Wall Street isn't necessarily affiliated with a particular party, its anti-big business message may not be resonating with majorities in any party. Republicans, independents, and now close to half of Democrats are more concerned about the threat of big government than that coming from big business.

Survey Methods
Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted Nov. 28-Dec. 1, 2011, with a random sample of 1,012 adults, aged 18 and older, living in the continental U.S., selected using random-digit-dial sampling.

For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points.

Interviews are conducted with respondents on landline telephones and cellular phones, with interviews conducted in Spanish for respondents who are primarily Spanish-speaking. Each sample includes a minimum quota of 400 cell phone respondents and 600 landline respondents per 1,000 national adults, with additional minimum quotas among landline respondents by region. Landline telephone numbers are chosen at random among listed telephone numbers. Cell phone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods. Landline respondents are chosen at random within each household on the basis of which member had the most recent birthday.

Samples are weighted by gender, age, race, Hispanic ethnicity, education, region, adults in the household, and phone status (cell phone only/landline only/both, cell phone mostly, and having an unlisted landline number). Demographic weighting targets are based on the March 2010 Current Population Survey figures for the aged 18 and older non-institutionalized population living in U.S. telephone households. All reported margins of sampling error include the computed design effects for weighting and sample design.

In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

View methodology, full question results, and trend data.

For more details on Gallup's polling methodology, visit http://www.gallup.com.

WaveRyder

vote ron paul

satansbed

i think the key term here is fear

gimmesometruth27

WaveRyder wrote:

vote ron paul

one man can not "shrink" the government. especially if some of the things keeping it "big" are laws..

WaveCameCrashin

I think the problem is when congress or state legislatures make new laws they need to get rid of old laws that make no sense.


But as a whole the federal gov has gotten way to big. I mean did you ever think we would see the day when the 100w incandescent light bulb would be banned ? And by a Republican none the less. I bet you can't name one thing in your house or apt that the federal gov is not in one way or another involved with.

WaveRyder

WaveCameCrashin wrote:

I think the problem is when congress or state legislatures make new laws they need to get rid of old laws that make no sense.


But as a whole the federal gov has gotten way to big. I mean did you ever think we would see the day when the 100w incandescent light bulb would be banned ? And by a Republican none the less. I bet you can't name one thing in your house or apt that the federal gov is not in one way or another involved with.

marijuana.......oh wait.......

WaveRyder

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

WaveRyder wrote:

vote ron paul

one man can not "shrink" the government. especially if some of the things keeping it "big" are laws..

but only one candidate running for president is saying a god damn thing about civil liberties (including OBama, whom campaigned on restoring them)....that's enough to earn my vote. I will be voting for Dr. Ronald Paul in the 2012 primaries. Switched my registration to Repub just to do so.

gimmesometruth27

WaveRyder wrote:

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

WaveRyder wrote:

vote ron paul

one man can not "shrink" the government. especially if some of the things keeping it "big" are laws..

but only one candidate running for president is saying a god damn thing about civil liberties (including OBama, whom campaigned on restoring them)....that's enough to earn my vote. I will be voting for Dr. Ronald Paul in the 2012 primaries. Switched my registration to Repub just to do so.

good for you. but by supporting him, a republican, you are supporting the 2 party system that you keep bashing me for doing...

if you think he is going to stand up to the kooks in his own party you are misguided....he will be going against an entire party of "blue dogs" that would only weaken him as president...

the racism issue and his newsletters is going to come up and make his candidacy moot anyway.

Hugh Freaking Dillon

no one man can change anything. it needs to be societal. and most people are too fucking preoccupied with themselves to take it to the finish line.

he still stands

I don't know how anyone could say that voting for Ron Paul is a bad move, if you agree that big government is a major problem.

he's the ONLY candidate talking about it. okay... Gary Johnson is too but he doesn't have a shot.

I'll probably end up voting for Obama because Mitt Romney would immanentize the fucking eschaton... but a vote for anyone other than Paul is a vote for fascism. Shit is THAT bad.