Big Companies, PACs, Banks, Financial Institutions and Lobbyists Seen by Strong Majorities as Having Too Much Power and Influence in DC

Small business and public opinion seen as having too little

New York, N.Y. - June 1, 2011 - When one thinks about how Washington, D.C. works, certain groups are always seen as being too powerful and wielding too much influence among the decision-making authorities. Almost nine in ten Americans say that big companies (88%) and political action committees or PACs (87%) have too much power and influence in Washington D.C. More than four in five U.S. adults believe that banks and financial institutions (85%) and political lobbyists (84%) carry too much influence inside the Beltway while almost three-quarters believe the news media (72%) has too much power.

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 1,010 adults surveyed by telephone between April 12 and 18, 2011 by Harris Interactive.

More than three in five Americans say entertainment and sports celebrities (62%) and trade associations (61%) have too much power and influence while majorities believe this about trial lawyers (58%), labor unions (55%) and television and radio talk shows (53%).

At the other end of the spectrum, nine in ten Americans (91%) say that small business has too little power and influence in Washington, D.C., while 82% say the same about public opinion and 65% believe this about non-profit organizations. Just over half of U.S. adults say that opinion polls (53%) and racial minorities (53%) have too little power. Churches and religious groups fall a bit in the middle as just under half (49%) say they have too little power and influence while 42% believe they have too much.

Changes over time

There have been some changes from both last year and over time. Some of the largest shifts from 1994 are:

• A nine point increase, from 46% to 55%, in those who believe Labor Unions have too much power;
• A seven point decrease, from 79% to 72%, in those who say the News Media has too much power; and,
• A five point increase, from 79% to 84%, in those who say Political Lobbyists have too much power in Washington, D.C.

Some of the largest changes since last year are:

• A seven point increase, from 35% to 42%, in those who believe Churches and Religious Groups have too much power;
• A six point increase, from 66% to 72%, in those who believe the News Media has too much power and influence;
• A six point increase, from 31% to 37%, in those who say Opinion Polls have too much power; and,
• A six point increase, from 21% to 27%, in those who say Non-Profit Organizations have too much power.

 

Partisan differences

Republicans, Democrats and Independents tend to agree on certain issues related to power and influence in Washington. Over 80 percent of all three groups believe that big companies have too much power and influence (84%, 87% and 93%, respectively) and similar numbers say so about PACs (89%, 84%, and 94% respectively). Less than 8% all three party groups think small business has too much power and influence in D.C.

However, there are also some large differences. Republicans are much more likely than Democrats to believe that labor unions have too much power (80% vs. 34%). They are also more likely to think that racial minorities (53% vs. 22%), non-profit organizations (34% vs. 16%) and the news media (84% vs. 63%) have too much power.

Democrats, on the other hand, are more likely than Republicans to think churches and religious organizations (51% vs. 29%), television and radio talk shows (56% vs. 49%) and small business (7% vs. less than 0.5%) have too much power.

So what?

The perception of business in this country is one that has always been split. For years, big business has topped this list, being perceived as wielding too much power, while small business has sat at the bottom of the list, seen as having too little. This is why the issue of large Wall Street bonuses and tax breaks for big companies will never sit well with Americans and why railing against big business is an effective campaign slogan for politicians.

 

 

 

TABLE 1

GROUPS SEEN AS HAVING TOO MUCH OR TOO LITTLE POWER AND INFLUENCE IN WASHINGTON

"And now a question about the power of different groups in influencing government policy, politicians, and policy makers in Washington. Do you think (READ EACH ITEM) have/has too much or too little power

and influence in Washington?"

Base: All Adults

Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100 percent due to rounding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

TABLE 2

GROUPS SEEN AS HAVING TOO MUCH POWER - TRENDS 1994-2011

"And now a question about the power of different groups in influencing government policy, politicians, and policy makers in Washington. Do you think (READ EACH ITEM) have/has too much or too little power

and influence in Washington?"

Percent saying "too much"

Base: All Adults

 

TABLE 3

GROUPS SEEN AS HAVING TOO LITTLE POWER - TRENDS 1994-2011

"And now a question about the power of different groups in influencing government policy, politicians, and policy makers in Washington. Do you think (READ EACH ITEM) have/has too much or too little power

and influence in Washington?"

Percent saying "too little"

Base: All Adults

 

TABLE 4

GROUPS SEEN AS HAVING TOO MUCH POWER - BY PARTY ID

"And now a question about the power of different groups in influencing government policy, politicians, and policy makers in Washington. Do you think (READ EACH ITEM) have/has too much or too little power and influence in Washington?"

Percent saying "too much"

Base: All Adults

*Signifies less than 1%

 

Methodology

The Harris Poll^® was conducted by telephone within the United States between April 12 and 18, 2011 among a nationwide cross section of 1,010 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region, number of adults in the household, size of place (urbanicity), and number of phone lines voice/telephone lines in the household were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling are subject to, multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of Harris Interactive.

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The Harris Poll ^® #65, June 1, 2011

By Regina Corso, SVP, Harris Poll, Public Relations and Youth Research, Harris Interactive

 

About Harris Interactive

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