"In an otherwise polarized environment, two-thirds of Democrats, Republicans and independents share an unfavorable view of major banks and financial institutions, the Pew Research Center found last month," reports the New York Times. Here's the full language from the Pew poll:
While the public is wary of too much government, it makes an exception when it comes to stricter regulation of major financial companies. A clear majority (59%) says it is a good idea for the government to more strictly regulate the way major financial companies do business; just 33% say this is a bad idea. Support for tougher regulation of financial firms is as high as it was last April (60% good idea).
There are other indications of a public backlash against large financial institutions. Just 25% say they have a favorable opinion of major U.S. banks and financial institutions while 68% have an unfavorable view. Negative views of large financial institutions are evident across political lines: 72% of Democrats, 68% of independents and 67% of Republicans have an unfavorable impression of such institutions. ... Fully 62% say they are angry over the large bonuses, while 48% say they are angry over the government bailing out financial institutions that made poor financial decisions.
Just allow the government to regulate the banks more strictly for a while, and we'll see then whether people still think it's a good idea. That's my takeaway from another finding of the Pew poll: "the public is now evenly divided over whether it is a good idea for the government to exert more control over the economy than it has in recent years. Fewer than half (46%) say this is a good idea, while 42% say it is not. Last March, by a wider margin (54% to 37%), Americans said it was a good idea for the government to exert more control over the economy."
