Nearly half (47%) of U.S. voters say Congress has more control over the direction of the economy than the president and the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board.

Twenty-four percent (24%) say the Fed chairman has more control, while just 15% think the president does, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Fifteen percent (15%) are undecided.

Still, 44% say the Fed chairman has too much power over the economy, even as Congress earlier this month expanded the Fed’s powers to allow unprecedented intervention in the private financial sector.

Seven percent say the Fed chairman does not have enough power over the economy, and 37% say he has just about the right amount of power.

Investors are slightly less critical: 40% say the Fed chairman has too much power, compared to 52% of non-investors.

Since mid-October, confidence levels in the Rasmussen Consumer Index and the Rasmussen Investor Index have remained at fairly stable levels, modestly above record lows set earlier in the month. But 76% of investors still say the economy is getting worse.

Only 31% of voters think the Fed chairman is truly independent, while 48% believe he is influenced by the president. Twenty-one percent (21%) are undecided.

Members of the Federal Reserve Board are chosen for 14-year terms to free them from undue influence by any one president. The chairman is nominated for a four-year term by the president from among the board members and must be approved by the Senate.

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The current chairman, Ben Bernanke, is viewed more negatively than his predecessor, Alan Greenspan, although the latter last week acknowledged underestimating some negative factors in the economy that led to the current financial crisis. Thirty-six percent (36%) have a favorable view of Bernanke, while 42% view him unfavorably. Greenspan is viewed favorably by 49% and unfavorably by 42%.

Bernanke is pushing Congress to enact a second economic stimulus package that includes an extension of jobless benefits, funding of infrastructure projects such as road and bridge construction, more money for food stamps and helping state and local governments that need money. The price tag for taxpayers could run as high as $300 billion.

In a separate survey, 58% said more tax cuts will better stimulate the economy than new government spending, but voters were more evenly divided when asked about the specifics of the new stimulus plan. A majority of voters continue to worry that the federal government will do too much in response to the current economic crisis rather than not enough

The Fed is also expected to further cut interest rates when it meets this week as part of its continuing efforts to stimulate growth in an economy that, depending on who you talk to, is either in a recession or on the brink of one.

A plurality of investors (49%) say Congress has more control over the direction of the economy than either the president or the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, as do 43% of non-investors.

With Democrats currently running both the House and the Senate, it is perhaps not surprising that 61% of Republicans say Congress has more control over the direction of the economy than either the Fed chairman or the president. Just 35% of Democrats and 46% of unaffiliated voters agree.

Only 21% of Democrats say the president has more control over the economy, compared to six percent (6%) of GOP voters and 16% of unaffiliateds.

But, with a Republican presently in the White House, 59% of Democrats think the Fed chairman is influenced by the president, a view shared by only 34% of Republicans – and nearly half (48%) of unaffiliated voters. Republicans by a two-to-one margin over Democrats think the chairman is truly independent. Thirty-two percent (32%) of unaffiliateds agree.

The higher one’s income, the more likely he or she is to believe the Fed chairman is influenced by the president.

Investors are fairly evenly divided in their views of Bernanke, while Greenspan’s favorables are 13 points higher than his unfavorables. Non-investors are divided over Greenspan, but by a 14-point margin have a more unfavorable view of his successor.

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