Poll: Americans no fans of size of government, corporations

By Bernie Becker - 01/19/12 02:08 PM ET

Americans are equally skeptical of the size of government and the influence of major corporations, a new poll has found.

Roughly 3 in 10 adults are pleased with the power held by both big businesses and the government, Gallup found.

But while the overall approval numbers were similar, Gallup’s findings showed a stark divide in how Democrats and Republicans view both the corporate world and Washington.

Gallup’s figures were also similar to what the polling outfit found last year, though the findings also mark a sharp drop-off from a decade ago.

The conclusions from Gallup, coming less than 10 months before the 2012 election, appear to underscore polling that has found voters convinced the United States is on the wrong track.

Republicans had a banner election in 2010, in large part by campaigning against the size of government. Democrats, meanwhile, have already started to target Mitt Romney, a front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination, over his private equity experience at Bain Capital.

In general, Gallup found that voters not aligned with either party may be open to hearing arguments against both the federal government and big business. According to the polling company, only about a quarter of independent voters were satisfied with the influence of the government and major corporations.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Republicans were much more satisfied with the size and influence of significant corporations, splitting right down the middle on the issue. But more than 80 percent of those aligned with the GOP were also disappointed in the size of the federal government.

On the flip side, Democrats were split evenly on whether they were content with the size of government, and largely dissatisfied with the influence of major corporations.

Gallup’s findings on these issues started falling off after 2002, when it found that roughly 6 in 10 were comfortable with the size of government and half of Americans were satisfied with the influence of major corporations.