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Big majority wants Wall Street regulation
Snow falls on a Wall St. street sign in front of the New York Stock Exchange, February 25, 2010.
Credit: Reuters/Brendan McDermid
WASHINGTON |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An overwhelming majority of Americans wants Wall Street subjected to tougher regulation in the aftermath of the bank bailout and the bonus scandals that have rocked the U.S. financial sector, according to a Harris poll released on Thursday.
The findings suggest that 82 percent of Americans want the government to clamp down more strongly on Wall Street excesses, with a particular emphasis on bonus schemes that have rewarded employees at loss-making companies such as American International Group.
A Harris release on the February 16-21 telephone survey of 1,010 adults did not specify how financial regulation should be applied but said three-quarters of Americans believe Wall Street companies should pay bonuses only while in the black.
Harris said the U.S. public does see value in Wall Street itself: nearly 60 percent say the financial sector is an essential benefit to the United States.
But a slightly larger majority disagrees that what is good for Wall Street is good for the country, while about two-thirds harbor strong negative views about the people who work there.
By a margin of 66 percent to 29 percent, Americans agree that "most people on Wall Street would be willing to break the law if they believed they could make a lot of money and get away with it," pollsters found.
Sixty-five percent say most successful people on Wall Street do not deserve the kind of money they make.
A similar majority said those in the financial sector are generally less honest and less moral than the general public.
"Those who manage large banks and other financial institutions can draw some comfort from the majorities who believe that Wall Street is essential and benefits the country, even if these numbers are much worse than they were before the 2008 crash," Harris said in a statement.
"On the other hand, there is no evidence that the American people have begun to forgive the people in Wall Street or to forget the huge problems that they caused."
Harris did not provide a margin of error for the poll.
(Reporting by David Morgan; editing by Mohammad Zargham)
Washington and all the pols who started this mess with their shameless vote-grubbing tactics in recent years must be pleased with these polling numbers. Who knew it would be so easy to shift all the blame onto Wall Street? Shame on American voters who believe it – y’all probably voted for Obama. Write when you can find a job.
That’s what happens when you put a jet engine in a corolla. A traffic catastrophe with pedestrians maimed for life everywhere. These ‘mechanics’ need to be regulated.
This is in correct, we want to END the FED, gov’t is the problem. The Federal Reserve is a Private bank!
It was the manipulation of the free market through setting of low interest rates by the Feds, which contributed to false market. Wall street was generated from the rush of investing of borrowed money and use of other people’s money. A product of the Feds bank manipulations.
We also want DC cleaned up. The fourth branch of the Government has assembled, it is called We the People.
We need classically free markets as far as possible; and when the gambling casino credit default swaps mentality undermines that, we need regulators who have enough
power and independence to rein in the criminals who exploit same. Gotthardbahn raises nothing but spurious ad hominem gibberish as opposed to any attempt to deal with the ongoing crisis in the financial sector, possibly being too distracted by slogans on placards and belt buckles to read the article and others on the topic.
Gotthardbahn – Wall Street was regulated for many years and then in the 1990’s was deregulated. Many of us thought completely free markets would regulate them through free market principals. They didn’t and thus they need to be reregulated to avoid economic crashes like this one from becoming as serious as this one has become. Wall Street does deserve most of the blame because they were given freedom & abused it. I did vote for Obama to solve this mess and he is. And I don’t need to find a job, I’ve started a business since Obama became president and while I have to work hard to find clients, I am finding clients and doing rather well. I pay my taxes and am seeing the results I wanted. Capitalism, with a little regulation, is a very good thing. Yea Obama! So I’m sorry things are difficult for you. Good luck in your job search, but hopefully unemployment is getting you through until you find a job. I’m sure you’ll find one very soon.
Wow…blaming the POTUS for trying to put out the fire after the barn was pretty much burned down. Geeeze. Bank deregulation and crippling the monitoring/enforcement agencies in the 90’s and 2000’s by Congress (mostly republicans…look at the voting records)allowed this all to happen. It really is that simple, and explains why the financial sector is lobbying republicans to block any real reform. Just once, …once, I’ld like to hear them take responsibility for their actions and inaction. Congressmen and financial institutions alike.
Washington and all the pols who started this mess with their shameless vote-grubbing tactics in recent years must be pleased with these polling numbers. Who knew it would be so easy to shift all the blame onto Wall Street? Shame on American voters who believe it – y’all probably voted for Obama. Write when you can find a job.
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Sure, they set the playing field, but those in the sector were the ones driving it into the ground. When you see a huge disparity in executive pay on the order of more than 100 times what the employee average is, people are right to be upset.
For the record, yes. I voted for him, and yes, I’ve found a job. (Feel free to play the normal reactionary role and purport that my job is with Acorn or something else you can vilify.) In fact, things have never been better. I can actually afford a house and keep my credit cards from jumping to barely sub-usurious rates now.
Thick as thieves, I believe is the term. DC makes the rules and NYC implements them. The so called regulators are bought and paid off because they are brothers in alms – so to speak.
