Forty-five percent (45%) of Americans oppose the federal government subsidizing mortgage payments for financially troubled homeowners, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

Thirty-eight percent (38%) think government subsidies are a good idea, and 18% are not sure which course is best to follow.

While 61% of Republicans oppose subsidizing mortgages, the plurality of Democrats (48%) support government aid to at-risk homeowners. Among adults not affiliated with either party, 33% favor subsidies, but 45% are against them.

The findings come as President Obama announced on Wednesday a $275-billion taxpayer-backed plan that would help an estimated nine million Americans refinance their mortgage payments or otherwise avoid foreclosure.

A majority (51%), however, say the government should find a way to help all homeowners reduce their payments rather than just help those who face foreclosure. But 15% think government assistance should target only those threatened with foreclosure.

Thirty-one percent (31%) say the government should not get directly involved in the housing market at all. Three percent (3%) are undecided.

Earlier this month, 61% of voters said if Congress passes a plan to help the housing market it should benefit as many homeowners as possible, while 28% said it should help only those in the greatest financial distress.

Forty-nine percent (49%) now believe the country needs new laws to govern the mortgage industry. Forty-one percent (41%) say the laws are already on the books, and the government needs to enforce them. Ten percent (10%) are not sure.

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The overwhelming majority of Americans continue to believe that buying a house is the best investment most families can make.

Most also believe their homes will go up in value over the next five years but are less optimist about housing values in the short term.

Sizable majorities also consistently say in surveys that if people cannot afford to make increased mortgage payments, it’s better for them to sell their homes and find less expensive ones than for the government to help with mortgage payments.

Despite Obama’s more targeted plan, Democrats (62%) are more strongly in favor of a plan that helps all homeowners than are Republicans (42%) and those who are unaffiliated (45%).

But 44% of Republicans and 37% of unaffiliateds say the government should not get directly involved in the housing market. Just 16% of Democrats agree.

Investors are evenly divided over which course is best for the government – helping all homeowners or avoiding direct involvement in the housing market. Fourteen percent (14%) favor assistance aimed only at those in danger of losing their homes.

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows that 38% of voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing as president. Twenty-five percent (25%) Strongly Disapprove.

Most Democrats (56%) say there is a need for new laws to regulate the mortgage industry, and 44% of Republicans agree. Forty-eight percent (48%) of Republicans think the government needs to enforce the laws we already have, a view shared by 36% of Democrats. For unaffiliated Americans, new laws are the better option by seven points.

Again, investors more closely parallel the Republican point of view. Forty-five percent (45%) see a need for new laws, while 48% say the government should enforce the laws already on the books.

Last April, 45% of Americans supported an increase in government regulation of the mortgage industry while 22% thought there should be less oversight. Nineteen percent (19%) favored no change in the existing level of regulation.

Americans are evenly divided on which is more important – making it easier for people to buy their first homes or keeping the value of existing homes as high as possible.

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