Survey: Americans fed up with bailouts

01.19.09
By Timothy Jones

The majority of Americans do not want the government to spend more money on bailing out financial institutions, a new poll reveals.

According to a CNN/Opinion Research survey, 61 percent of respondents are against giving more money to banks.

The resistance may be tied to unhappiness about how the cash injection has worked so far. More than eight in 10 people said the first part of the bailout has not been successful.

"Only 14 percent say that the money accomplished what it was supposed to do," explained Keating Holland, CNN's polling director.

The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) has never been popular with taxpayers. Even in October, when President Bush was warning of dire consequences if no action was taken, 56 percent of Americans said they did not want the government to give money to troubled banks.

However, Congress seems to still believe the money could have the power to unfreeze credit and trickle down to benefit consumers and businesses. On Thursday, the Senate voted to release the remaining $350 billion in funds.

But the incoming Obama administration has been working hard to reassure people the funds will not be mismanaged.

Speaking on CBS's Face the Nation program, Lawrence Summers, the president-elect's top economic adviser, said "the focus isn't going to be on the needs of banks, it's going to be on the needs of the economy for credit."

In particular, he mentioned a focus on helping average families avoid foreclosure, obtain car loans and regain access to needed credit.

He also said that Obama would work to keep unemployment under control, but also warned that the economy is likely to continue to worsen during the first part of this year.

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Most people think the bailout is not working