Satisfaction with government regulation of businesses at record low: Gallup

Dissatisfaction with government regulation of businesses has reached a record high among Americans, a new Gallup poll shows.

The survey found 60 percent of Americans were dissatisfied with such regulations, a figure that includes 29 percent who want less regulation, 18 percent who want more regulation and 13 percent who are dissatisfied but said such measures should remain the same.

Only 28 percent of Americans surveyed in the poll reported being satisfied with regulations on businesses.

The findings mark another increase in Americans who are not satisfied with government regulations, which spanned all political party groups with 72 percent of Republicans, 59 percent of independents and 55 percent of Democrats agreeing with the notion.

The findings come just after President Biden marked his first full year in office. The Gallup poll also reported that a majority of Americans, or 74 percent, remain dissatisfied with the size and influence of major corporations.

Just before he took office, Biden put together a team to help him embark on an aggressive regulatory agenda, with the aim of reversing policies that resulted in more lax regulations under former President Trump.

One such action the Biden administration took was an executive order to kick-start new regulations on methane and other emissions in the oil and gas industry.  

His picks to lead two major financial industry regulators, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, also meant an expansion of consumer and investor safeguards while holding financial firms to a higher standard.

A Gallup poll from last fall showed 52 percent of Americans thought the government was doing too much beyond its proper role.