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BUSINESS

51% Still Say Bailouts of GM and Chrysler Were A Bad Idea

From their beginning in 2008, the bailouts for Wall Street and the auto industry have been among the most unpopular government actions in recent American history. New polling shows that even after three years, the attitudes haven’t changed all that much.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 31% of American Adults believe it was a good idea for the government to provide bailout funding for General Motors and Chrysler. Fifty-one percent (51%) disagree and say the auto bailouts were a bad idea. Seventeen percent (17%) are undecided.  (To see survey question wording, click here).
 

In April 2009, only 26% thought the auto bailouts were a good idea.

Most Democrats (55%) continue to believe the auto bailouts were a good idea, while most Republicans (72%) think they were bad for the nation. Among those not affiliated with either major party, only 22% feel the auto bailouts were a good idea, while the majority (55%) say the idea was a bad one.

The majority (52%) of investors thinks the auto bailouts were a bad idea, too. 

(Want a free daily e-mail update ? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter  or Facebook.

The national survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on September 25-26, 2011 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 methodology.

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