Only 11% of Americans think a financial institution will run better if it’s run by the federal government, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

Sixty-seven percent (67%) say the institution will not run better, and 22% aren’t sure.

Republicans are the most skeptical. While 18% of Democrats say the government can run the financial entity better, just five percent (5%) of Republicans – and seven percent (7%) of adult s not affiliated with either party - agree.

Eighty percent (80%) of Republicans, 67% of unaffiliateds and 56% of Democrats do not believe the government will run it better.

Investors are dubious of government control as well: 73% say the government will not run the institution better, as do 62% of non-investors.

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Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Thursday detailed to the House Financial Services Committee a major expansion of the government’s powers to intervene in the financial sector. The plan calls for an expansion of the government’s ability to take over large financial institutions other than banks, including insurance companies and hedge funds, that are at risk of collapse. The plan must be approved by Congress.

Interestingly, seven-out-of 10 government workers (70%) do not believe a financial institution will run better under government control, nearly identical to the views of entrepreneurs and those who work in the private sector.

In terms of income, those earning $20,000 to $75,000 per year are the most critical of government-run financial institutions.

Forty-five percent (45%) of adults say it’s time to stop all bailout funding for the financial industry. But there is a huge gap between the Political Class and Mainstream America on the issue. Seventy-six percent (76%) of the Political Class believe the bailouts should continue, while most other Americans say they should be stopped.

Geithner’s new proposal targets companies like the ailing American International Group (AIG), but 59% of Americans say it’s better for the economy to let the insurance giant go out of business rather than give it a taxpayer bailout to stay afloat.

Americans have expressed similar concern about greater government involvement in health care and in the troubled domestic auto industry. Only 14% of U.S. voters think the Big Three automakers will run better if they are run by the federal government.

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