A majority of U.S. voters (52%) say the federal government needs to do more to deal with the current economic crisis, and 63% think the best stimulus would be more tax cuts. Just 20% think new government spending is what is needed, while 17% aren’t sure which is better.

Thirty nine-percent (39%) say the government already has done enough to meet the country’s economic needs, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Nine percent (9%) are undecided.

Eighty percent (80%) of Republicans favor tax cuts as an economic stimulus, as do 61% of unaffiliated voters and 51% of Democrats. Twenty-nine percent (29%) of Democratic voters, 18% of unaffiliateds and nine percent (9%) of Republicans support new government spending.

Fifty-nine percent (59%) of Republicans also believe the government has done enough to deal with the current economic crisis, but 74% of Democrats believe it needs to do more. Unaffiliated voters are closely divided on the question. Men by six points and women by 20 favor more action by the government.

Complicating the picture, however, is the worry that the government will do too much. Forty-six percent (46%) fear the government will do too much in response to the economic situation while 40% worry it won’t do enough. Fourteen percent (14%) are undecided.

The findings come after the biggest post-election slump in the stock market in U.S. history. President-elect Barack Obama plans to meet today with his special new economic advisory board and hold his first press conference since the election.

Today, Obama has a +12 rating on the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Approval Index.

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Seventy-two percent (72%) of Republicans fear too much government action, but 60% of Democrats are worried the government won’t do enough. Unaffiliated voters are more fearful the government will do too much by 17 points.

Investors are evenly divided on whether the government should do more, but 54% worry the government will do too much versus 31% of non-investors.

In a survey last month, 47% said Obama’s plan to raise taxes on those who earn over $250,000 a year is good for the economy, but 51% believed lower taxes are the best way to spur economic growth.

Although Obama campaigned heavily on a promise to cut taxes for 95% of Americans, 38% of voters expect taxes to go up when he assumes the White House next year.

High on Obama’s list is choosing a new Treasury secretary to replace Henry Paulson, the original architect of the $700 billion economic bailout plan, who leaves office in January with President Bush. The leading contenders for the job are Lawrence H. Summers, one of President Clinton’s Treasury secretaries, and Timothy F. Geithner, president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank.

Thirty-three percent (33%) say Obama should bring back one of the Clinton-era Treasury secretaries, but 51% prefer that he reach out to someone new. Just over half of Democrats (51%) favor a secretary from the Clinton years, but 68% of Republicans want a fresh face. Fifty-eight percent (58%) of unaffiliated voters want someone new, too.

Only 22% think the stock market will be higher by the time Obama is inaugurated as president on January 20. Slightly more (27%) say it will be lower, and 39% expect it to be about the same. Republicans and unaffiliated voters are more pessimistic about the market’s future than Democrats.

Twenty-four percent (24%) of investors say the market will be higher by Inauguration Day, 27% lower, and 37% about the same, Eleven percent (11%) are undecided. A plurality of non-investors (43%) say it will be about the same.

The Rasmussen Employment Index, a monthly measure of U.S. worker confidence in the employment market, fell 16 points in October. That’s the biggest single month drop and the lowest level of confidence ever recorded in the five-year history of the Index.

The Rasmussen Consumer Index slipped another point on Friday to 69.0, its lowest level since October 20. Consumer confidence is down five points since Election Day.

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