81% Say Neither Madoff Nor His Wife Should Keep Any Money
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Bernard Madoff, the Wall Street financier who ran a $64.8 billion Ponzi scheme, is expected to plead guilty to 11 criminal counts on Thursday, but he hopes his wife Ruth will be able to keep at least $70 million to live on while he's in jail.
Just five percent (5%) of Americans believe Madoff or his wife should be allowed to keep any of their money, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
Eighty-one percent (81%) say neither of the Madoffs should be permitted by legal authorities to hold onto their money and 13% are not sure.
Americans are even more convinced that Madoff should spend the rest of his life in jail if found guilty. Seventy-seven percent (77%) say the 70-year-old financier should spend his final days behind bars. Just 9% disagree.
In mid-January , 74% thought Madoff should spend the rest of his days in jail.
While news reports indicate that Madoff is going to court on Thursday without any plea agreement with federal prosecutors, 83% still say it is at least somewhat likely that he will make a deal with authorities to avoid spending the rest of his life in jail. Sixty-eight percent (68%) say it is Very Likely.
Americans are more likely now than in the earlier survey to blame Madoff's greed and a lack of government regulation than investor greed. Forty-four percent (44%) say Madoff's greed is most to blame in this case. Thirty-two percent (32%) think a lack of government regulation was the primary cause, while 13% attribute it to investor greed. Madoff was reportedly offering his clients annual returns up to 46 percent.
Investors, perhaps not surprisingly, take an even harder position against Madoff. Eighty-two percent (82%) of investors believe Madoff should spend the rest of his life in jail, a view shared by just 72% of non-investors.
Three-out-of four investors now say the economy is getting worse , and hardly any say they've made money over the past year.
Republicans and Democrats are largely in agreement on whether Madoff should serve a life sentence and whether either of the Madoffs should be allowed to keep any of their money. But they part ways on the cause to blame in the Madoff case. Forty-one percent (41%) of Democrats put the primary blame on a lack of government oversight, compared to 26% of both Republicans and unaffiliated adults.
Madoff, currently free on a $10-million bond, faces up to 150 years in jail time. He is expected to plead guilty to charges including fraud, money laundering and perjury. For years, he allegedly maintained an elaborate scheme whereby old investments were paid off with money from new ones.
Mrs. Madoff and other family members have not been charged in relation to the massive fraud scheme, but questions have been raised about $70 million in assets in her name and her withdrawal of $15.5 million from a related investment firm just weeks before her husband's arrest.
Seventy percent (70%) of Americans say they have been following news stories about Madoff at least somewhat closely, with 28% who say they have been following Very Closely. Seven percent (7%) say they haven't followed the Madoff case at all.
The disclosure of Madoff's scheme hasn't helped the argument for bailing out the troubled U.S. financial sector. Most Americans continue to oppose federal bailouts for the financial industry . Last October when the first such bailout plan was nearing a vote in Washington, 63% of voters were convinced that Wall Street would benefit more than the average taxpaye r.
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To view a copy of the original report, please use this link: Madoffs Must Pay