Poll: People don't want Obama's new regulations

A new Gallup poll, taken after Barack Obama used his State of the Union address to advocate a series of new government regulations, finds that most Americans are worried about giving the federal government new regulatory powers, and a large majority do not want to see the government become more involved in regulating and controlling business.

Gallup asked, "Which worries you more? Too much regulation of business by the government or not enough regulation of business by the government?" Fifty-seven percent of those surveyed say they're more worried about too much government regulation, while 37 percent say they're more worried by not enough regulation. (Six percent say they have no opinion.)

Then Gallup asked, "Which of the following do you most agree with -- the federal government should become more involved in regulating and controlling business, the federal government should become less involved in regulating and controlling business, or things are about right the way they are?" Fifty percent say the government should become less involved, versus 24 percent who say it should become more involved, and 23 percent who say things are about right the way they are.

There are striking differences between the political parties when it comes to regulation, but the Gallup survey suggests the issue tilts in the Republicans' favor; Republicans, and people who lean Republican, are quite united in their opposition to more regulation, while Democrats, and people who lean Democratic, are significantly less united in their support of it. (The poll did not give results for independents.)

For example, 76 percent of Republicans say the government should become less involved in regulation, while just 36 percent of Democrats say the government should become more involved. Looking at it from the other end, just 13 percent of Republicans say the government should become more involved, while 27 percent of Democrats say it should become less involved. Thirty-three percent of Democrats say things are about right the way they are, versus 11 percent of Republicans. However you look at it, far more people favor less or the same amount of regulation than favor more regulation.

Interpreting its findings, Gallup notes that in the State of the Union, Obama "mentioned the need to institute a fee on the biggest banks in order to continue to recover money given to banks; a proposal to slash tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas; instituting new regulations for financial institutions in order to provide more information to consumers; financial reforms that would affect lobbyists; and the healthcare reform effort that entails a great deal of government involvement in the nation's healthcare system. While the American public may favor some of these initiatives on an individual basis, the current results underscore the degree to which the average American in a general sense is concerned about too much government involvement in business."

That's a dry way of saying Obama and his Democratic allies are going to have a hard time winning the sort of wide-ranging new regulations they want to impose on American economic life.

washingtonexaminer.com