POLL ANALYSES July 12, 2002
More Americans Now View Big Business as Threat But a plurality still sees big government as the biggest threat
by Jeffrey M. Jones
GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- The recent wave of corporate scandals has taken a toll on how Americans perceive big business. Results of the latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll show that substantial numbers of Americans believe that unethical practices are fairly widespread in the business world. Additionally, the poll reveals a sharp increase in the percentage who view big business as more of a threat to the nation than big labor or big government. Nevertheless, the greatest number of Americans still sees big government as the most threatening of the three, continuing a trend dating back to 1965.
The poll, conducted July 5-8, asked Americans which they view as "the biggest threat to the country in the future -- big business, big labor or big government." Thirty-eight percent say big business is the biggest threat, up sharply from 22% when the question was last asked in October 2000, and the highest it has been since the question was first asked in 1965. Despite the increase, the greatest percentage of Americans, 47%, still views big government as a bigger threat. The percent saying government is the biggest threat is the lowest it has been since 1981, and down significantly from 65% in October 2000. Only 10% say big labor is the biggest threat, which reached as high as 29% in 1965.
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