51% Oppose Nationalization Even of At-Risk Banks
Thursday, February 27, 2009
Only 29% of Americans believe the federal government should nationalize some banks that are at risk of going out of business, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
Fifty-one percent (51%) oppose nationalization even of troubled mega-banks like Citigroup which is now proposing the government take a 40-percent share of its business. Twenty percent (20%) are not sure which is the better course to follow.
Investors are slightly more adamant. Fifty-five percent (55%) oppose nationalization even of at-risk banks, while 28% favor the idea.
The numbers are closer when Americans are asked whether some banks are too big to be allowed to fail, one of the key arguments being made for increased government involvement in the financial industry. But while 32% say that's true, 44% disagree. Twenty-four percent (24%) are undecided.
An overwhelming majority (74%) continue to oppose a government takeover of the U.S. banking system and the creation of one centralized bank. Just 14% like that idea, and 12% are not sure.
These numbers are virtually identical to a survey earlier this month despite two weeks of increasingly bad news about the financial industry and Citigroup in particular. Only 39% expressed confidence in the stability of the U.S. banking industry at that time .
Republicans in general are strongly opposed to any nationalization efforts, with those not affiliated with either major political party slightly less so. Democrats are more closely divided.
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke told a House committee on Wednesday that the federal government is likely to take major stakes in Citigroup and other banks, but he insisted that this is not the same as nationalization. When a bank is nationalized, he said, it is seized by the government which "zeroes out the shareholders and begins to manage and run the bank, and we don't plan anything like that."
But, according to a Bloomberg News report on the hearing, Bernanke did acknowledge that "if we had a 40 percent position of a bank, we would obviously have a great deal of influence on management, on the board, on policies, on capital structure, all of those elements."
Seventy-five percent (75%) of Republicans are opposed to nationalizing banks that are at-risk of going out of business. Among Democrats, 41% are in favor of nationalizing and 34% are opposed. Nearly half of voters not affiliated with either party (48%) are opposed while 32% support nationalization.
Thirty-eight percent (38%) of Democrats, 36% of unaffiliated adults and 22% of Republicans say some banks are too big to be allowed to fail. But most Republicans (56%) and the plurality of unaffiliateds (45%) don't agree, along with 34% of Democrats.
All three, however, strongly oppose nationalization of the entire U.S. banking system, although again GOP opposition (88%) is much higher than that of Democrats (68%) and unaffiliated Americans (66%).
Eighty-one percent (81%) of investors think nationalization is a bad idea, compared to 68% of non-investors.
Only 30% of investors say some banks are too big to fail, but 50% say that's not true. Non-investors by a five-point margin agree with the majority of investors.
After hitting record lows for three straight days, the Rasmussen Investor Index rallied very slightly on Thursday.
The Obama Administration has pledged up to $2.5 trillion to support the troubled U.S. financial system, but most Americans oppose giving bankers any additional government money or guarantees backed by the government .
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To view a copy of the original report, please use this link: Nationalize This!