Now that the brunt of the Chinese coronavirus pandemic is over, Americans are ready for the U.S. government to relinquish much of the control it obtained in an effort to “slow the spread.”
According to a Gallup poll released on Thursday, 52 percent of Americans believe the government is “doing too many things that should be left to individuals and businesses.” Fifty-four percent say the government has “too much power.”
Americans’ attitudes have shifted since last year, when a majority of Americans —54 percent — said the government should do more to solve problems. The poll report credited the change to desire for more security during the pandemic.
“Last year marked only the second time in Gallup’s 29-year trend that at least half of Americans endorsed an active role for the government on this item,” according to the poll report. “The other pro-government response came in the weeks after the 9/11 terror attacks amid heightened concern about terrorism and a surge in trust in government.”
Notably, Republicans have rarely wanted more government, even during crises. Democrats and independents, however, have widely shifted over the years. In 2020, 56 percent of independents wanted the government to do more to solve problems, compared with 38 percent now — even lower than 45 percent before the pandemic began in 2019.
Americans also prefer a “limited government role” when it comes to trade-offs between taxes and government services. Half of Americans say they prefer fewer services and lower taxes, while 19 percent want more services and higher taxes — 29 percent wants both to stay the same as they are now. Unsurprisingly, Democrats are in favor of higher taxes and more services than Republicans. Also, according to the report:
In the five times Gallup has asked this question since 1993, the preference for lower taxes and fewer services has consistently prevailed, held either by pluralities or majorities of Americans, including a high of 56 percent in 2011. Only as many as 25 percent, in 2019, have said they wanted higher taxes and more services.
Since 2005, a majority of Americans have contended that the government has too much power, peaking at 60 percent in 2013 and 2015 during Barrack Obama’s presidency. Few Americans have “ever said the government has too little power.”
Continue: Breitbart.com
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