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POLITICS

Most Reject Big Government But Expect Biden to Grow It Anyway

Most voters continue to view big government as a problem and don’t want it, but they strongly suspect that more government and higher taxes are on the way with Joe Biden in the White House.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 59% of Likely U.S. Voters agree with the late President Reagan’s inaugural declaration that “government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” Just 27% disagree, while 14% are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

This is the highest level of agreement with Reagan’s statement since Rasmussen Reports first asked this question in 2008.

Fifty-two percent (52%) prefer a smaller government with fewer services and lower taxes over a more active one with more services and higher taxes, down from 57% in May. Thirty-seven percent (37%) want bigger government instead, while 11% are not sure. Support for smaller government has ranged from 52% to 70% in regular surveying since 2006.

But when asked which is more likely if Joe Biden becomes the next U.S. president, 69% say a more active government with more services and higher taxes. Only 16% believe Biden is more likely to deliver a smaller government with fewer services and lower taxes. Fourteen percent (14%) are undecided.

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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted November 19 and 22, 2020 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.

In a survey during campaign season, 53% of voters said their taxes were more likely to go up if Biden defeated President Trump. Twenty-eight percent (28%) expected a tax increase if Trump was reelected.

Sizable majorities across most demographic categories think Biden is more likely to grow government and raise taxes.

While 58% of Democrats prefer a more active government with more services and higher taxes, 72% of Republicans and 56% of voters not affiliated with either major party opt instead for smaller government and lower taxes.

But even 50% of Democrats agree with Reagan that government is the problem, although that belief is higher among GOP voters (70%) and unaffiliateds (58%).

Among voters who prefer one political party running both the White House and Congress, 57% favor a more active government with more services and higher taxes. Seventy-two percent (72%) of those who think it’s better if the White House and Congress are each run by a different party like smaller government with fewer services and lower taxes more.

Voters agree the $4 trillion-plus the federal government now spends annually is too much and favor budget cuts, especially in entitlement programs. But most also consider it highly unlikely that spending cuts will occur.

More Americans than ever consider themselves overtaxed.

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

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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted November 19 and 22, 2020 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.

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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