Want Tougher Financial Regulation

As Congress debates whether or not to impose tighter controls on the way financial firms do business, a substantial majority of the public (59%) thinks stricter regulations are a good idea, compared with only 33% who see stricter financial regulations as a bad idea. This despite the fact that more Americans now say they prefer a smaller government providing fewer services (50%) rather than a bigger government providing more services (40%). Support for government to exert more control over the economy than it has in recent years is also down somewhat from roughly a year ago. Americans are now evenly divided on whether it is a good idea (46%) or a bad idea (42%) for greater government involvement in the economy. Nearly eight-in-ten Democrats (79%) say that stricter government regulations of financial firms are a good idea. But there is much less support for this idea among independents (52% good idea), while Republicans are closely divided on whether tougher regulations on financial firms are a bad idea (48%) or a good idea (45%). Read More