Poll: Majority of Americans Say the Government Is Burdensome and Impedes Them

The latest
Reason-Rupe poll finds that 54 percent of Americans think
government, while necessary for certain functions, is generally
burdensome and impedes them more than helps them. Conversely 41
percent view government as primarily a source of good and helping
people improve their lives.

A majority of Democrats (54 percent) view government as
primarily a source of helping people, while 40 percent generally
view it as an obstacle. In contrast, majorities of Republicans (69
percent) and independents (57 percent) disagree, viewing government
as primarily as burdensome making it more difficult for people to
improve their lives. Twenty-six percent of Republicans and 39
percent of independents view government as primarily helpful.

As education rises, Americans become more optimistic in
government’s ability to help people. For instance a majority (55
percent) of post-graduates agreed the government is a source of
good, compared to 37 percent among those with high school degrees
or less.

Most Caucasians (58 percent) view the government as burdensome
and 37 percent view it as primarily helpful. Latinos and
African-Americans are evenly divided, with slightly more Latinos
viewing government as burdensome (50 percent) than helpful (46
percent).

Although majorities of young Americans agree there is more
government should be doing, 53 percent view government as primarily
burdensome and 43 percent view it as helpful. These numbers are
similar to older Americans who feel government impedes people by a
margin of 55 to 40 percent.

Government employees are also slightly more likely to view
government favorably, with 51 percent who believe government is
primarily helpful. However, 56 percent of private sector employees
say government primarily impedes people from improving their
lives.

Nationwide telephone poll conducted Dec 4-8 2013 interviewed
1011 adults on both mobile (506) and landline (505) phones, with a
margin of error +/- 3.7%. Princeton Survey Research Associates
International executed the nationwide Reason-Rupe survey. Columns
may not add up to 100% due to rounding. Full poll results,
detailed tables, and methodology found here. Sign
up for notifications of new releases of the
Reason-Rupe poll here.