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POLITICS

62% Say Government Has Too Much Power in America Today

Nearly two-out-of-three Americans believe the government has too much power in this country and that too many of their fellow countrymen are dependent on the government for financial support.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 62% of American Adults believe there is too much government power and too little individual freedom in the United States today. Just 10% think the opposite, that there is too much individual freedom and too little government power. Sixteen percent (16%) think the balance is about right, while 12% are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

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The national survey of 800 Adults was conducted on April 14-15, 2015 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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Rasmussen Reports is a media company specializing in the collection, publication and distribution of public opinion information.

We conduct public opinion polls on a variety of topics to inform our audience on events in the news and other topics of interest. To ensure editorial control and independence, we pay for the polls ourselves and generate revenue through the sale of subscriptions, sponsorships, and advertising. Nightly polling on politics, business and lifestyle topics provides the content to update the Rasmussen Reports web site many times each day. If it's in the news, it's in our polls. Additionally, the data drives a daily update newsletter and various media outlets across the country.

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