67% Support Ending ‘Corporate Welfare’

A solid majority of voters of every political persuasion are opposed to government subsidies for business.

A new national telephone and online survey by Rasmussen Reports and the Woodford Foundation finds that 67% of Likely U.S. voters favor ending “corporate welfare,” and believe government should not give handouts to businesses. Just 17% disagree, while another 16% are not sure. Opposition to corporate welfare has increased since January 2024, when 64% of voters were against it. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

There is almost no partisan difference on this issue. Sixty-five percent (68%) of Democrats support ending “corporate welfare,” as do 61% of Republicans and 73% of voters not affiliated with either major party.

A solid majority (64%) of voters also agree that taxes and government spending should be cut 50% or more. That’s up from 57% in January 2024. Only 23% now disagree and 13% are not sure. Seventy-one percent (71%) of Republicans, 50% of Democrats and 74% of unaffiliated voters favor such a proposal.

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The survey of 1,000 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted on September 30, 2025 by Rasmussen Reports and The Woodford Foundation. 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.

Another popular proposal, favored by 58% of voters, is to maintain Department of Defense spending at 4% of Gross Domestic Product. Seventeen percent (17%) disagree and 25% are not sure. Fifty percent (50%) of Republicans, and 62% of both Democrats and unaffiliated voters, favor this idea.

Among other findings of the Rasmussen Reports/Woodford Foundation survey:

– A majority (54%) of voters now believe people should be able to control their own retirement and Social Security should be privatized. That’s up from 44% in January 2024. Thirty-two percent (32%) disagree and 13% are not sure. Privatizing Social Security is most popular among voters under 40.

– Support for repealing Obamacare has declined. Just 30% now agree it should be repealed, down from 46% in January 2024. Forty-five percent (45%) now disagree and 19% are not sure. Opposition to repealing Obamacare is highest among voters 65 and older, while those in their 40s are most favorable to repeal. Forty-seven percent (47%) of whites and Hispanics, 62% of black voters, and 79% of other minorities disagree with repealing Obamacare. While a majority (56%) of Republicans still agree that Obamacare should be repealed, 75% of Democrats and 50% of unaffiliated voters disagree.

– Thirty-nine percent (39%) of voters believe government should do much less, and allow people to work things out voluntarily among themselves. Forty-five percent (45%) disagree and 16% are not sure. Fifty-eight percent (58%) of Republicans, 31% of Democrats and 28% of unaffiliated voters agree.

– Twenty-seven percent (27%) agree that global warming is not a threat to the world – down from 38% in January 2024 – while 65% now disagree. A majority (56%) of Republicans don’t see global warming as a threat to the world, but overwhelming majorities of both Democrats (83%) and unaffiliated voters (73%) think global warming is a threat.

A plurality of voters believe the recent federal indictments of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James are about getting revenge on enemies of President Donald Trump.

At a time when a historic peace deal has ended the Gaza War, support for Israel has significantly declined among American voters.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to the public as well as to Platinum Members. 

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