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BUSINESS

47% Worry Government Will Do Too Much To Help Economy

Voters remain narrowly divided over how much the government should get involved in trying to turn around the U.S. economy.  

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 47% of Likely Voters are worried more that the federal government will do too much rather than not enough in reacting to the nation's economic problems. Forty-one percent (41%) are more concerned that the federal government will not do enough. Twelve percent (12%) are undecided.  (To see survey question wording, click here.)

These findings are consistent with surveys for well over a year. But in September 2008, just after the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the beginning of the Wall Street meltdown, 63% were worried that the government would do too much. 

One thing the government did that voters continue to disapprove of is bail out the auto and financial industries with taxpayer dollars. Only 29% of voters think the bailouts of banks and auto and insurance companies were a good idea.  Just over half (53%) say, looking back, these bailouts were a bad idea.  Another 18% are undecided.  These results have remained fairly consistent since April 2009.

(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 survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on June 2-3, 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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