Poll: Fewer Americans think government is ‘doing too much’

A majority of Americans said the U.S. government is doing too much, though more are saying it should do more than in recent polls, according to a new survey.

The Gallup poll -- released Monday -- found that 54 percent of those surveyed said the government is “doing too many things that should be left to individuals and businesses,” while 39 percent said the government should “do more to solve our country’s problems.” When Gallup asked the same question earlier this year, it found that a record 61 percent thought the government was doing too much, while 34 percent said it should do more.

Respondents were sharply divided along partisan lines, with 82 percent of Republicans declaring the government guilty of overreach, while 24 percent of Democrats said the same.

The results paralleled responses gathered by Gallup since it started asking the question 20 years ago. The pollsters found a majority of Americans supporting more government action only three times since 1992.

Gallup found Americans are slightly more sympathetic toward government in a similar question, with 51 percent of respondents saying it has too much power and 48 percent saying it had the right amount or too little.

The poll surveyed 1,017 adults and was conducted from Sept. 6 to Sept. 9.

(Image via Amalia Ferreira-Espinoza /Shutterstock.com)