Fifty-seven percent (57%) of U.S. voters favor imposing a 90% tax on bonuses paid by American International Group (AIG) and other firms that receive government bailout money, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

Thirty-five percent (35%) oppose such a tax, which already has been approved by the House and is now under discussion in the Senate.

However, the reluctance of some to embrace the tax has nothing to do with sympathy for AIG’s position. Three-out-of-four Americans (76%) want the executives involved to give the bonuses back. Sixty-eight percent (68%) have come to believe that most bailout money is going to those who caused the economic crisis to begin with.

Seventy-three percent (73%) of voters say Congress and President Obama should have acted to prevent the AIG bonuses before the company received its bailout money. Only 10% disagree, and 17% are not sure.

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Most Americans say it’s better for the economy to let AIG go out of business rather than providing federal subsidies to keep the company going. But, America’s Political Class disagrees.

Sixty-seven percent (67%) of all voters now oppose any additional federal funding for AIG.

The law approved by the House taxes at a 90 percent rate bonus payments made to anyone who earned over $250,000 at any financial institution receiving a substantial amount of government bailout help. The Senate is expected to make major changes in the tax proposal. Obama has so far indicated little enthusiasm for the tax because it selectively targets a small group of people and therefore may not be constitutional.

While 70% of Democrats like the tax on bonuses, Republicans are almost evenly divided over it. Unaffiliated voters favor the tax by a 14-point margin. Government workers are more enthusiastic about the 90% tax than entrepreneurs and those in private industry.

While 66% of non-investors support the 90% tax, just 52% of investors agree.

Seventy-four percent (74%) of GOP voters oppose any further government financial support for AIG, as do 64% of Democrats and 63% of unaffiliateds.
Sixty-three percent (63%) of investors agree, along with 73% of non-investors.

Sizable majorities of Republicans (77%), Democrats (67%) and unaffiliated voters (78%) believe Congress and the president should have acted to prevent the AIG bonuses before the company received bailout money.

Investors (77%) agree more strongly than non-investors (66%).

AIG received its bailout money from the fall of 2008 into the beginning of the current year. The highly-publicized limits placed on executive compensation in this year’s $787-billion economic stimulus package were amended at Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s request to allow AIG to pay the previously negotiated bonuses out of bailout money. Supporters of the bonuses argue that they allow troubled companies to hold onto top talent.

Just 24% of Americans now have a favorable opinion of Geithner, while 44% regard him unfavorably. Support for the Treasury secretary is considerably higher among America’s Political Class than it is in Mainstream America.

The strong public interest in the AIG bonuses is reflected in how closely voters are following the story. Ninety-two percent (92%) say have followed news reports about the bonuses, with 63% following Very Closely. Only one percent (1%) say they are not following the AIG bonus story at all.

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll shows that President Obama’s ratings have held steady as the political furor over the AIG bonuses has unfolded.

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