Skip to main content

Public Affairs Pulse Survey – 2013

By September 17, 2013October 3rd, 2023Pulse (CT)

Public Affairs Pulse Survey – 2013

What Americans Think About Business

Read the Report

Americans Look to Business, Not Government, For Answers

A majority of Americans lack faith in the federal government’s ability to solve the nation’s most pressing problems, and they’re looking to business for help, according to the 2013 Public Affairs Pulse survey.

Read More

This national survey – commissioned by the nonpartisan Public Affairs Council and conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International – shows that three in five Americans (60%) have a very favorable or somewhat favorable view of major companies, while only 41 percent have a favorable view of the federal government.

Nearly half of the public (51%) finds the federal government often wasteful and inefficient, and only 37 percent of Americans express a lot or some trust and confidence in the government’s ability to fix the country’s issues. Consequently, a majority of Americans think major companies should take on more responsibility to help solve problems that have traditionally been the responsibility of government, such as providing community services like food banks (70%), improving the quality of education (64%) and improving the quality and affordability of health care (62%).

Results also show a slight uptick in negative views about regulation, with 52 percent of Americans believing that government regulation of business usually does more harm than good, while 44 percent believe it is necessary to protect the public interest. For the first time, the Pulse survey explored how levels of trust in various industry sectors might relate to perceptions of the need for more regulation of those sectors. And it found that, in general, the less trustworthy the public perceives an industry to be, the more likely the public is to say there is too little regulation of that industry.

Meanwhile, the survey found that young people are more likely than older Americans to give the federal government the benefit of the doubt: Some 51 percent of Millennials have favorable views of the government. Yet their views of business are complex: Nearly four in five young people say big companies are doing a good job providing useful products and services, and many say companies are performing well on jobs; yet many Millennials say companies are not paying their employees fairly or taking sufficient care of the environment.

The 2013 Pulse survey also explored how campaigns should be financed and found that Americans are overwhelmingly opposed to public financing, with only 33 percent agreeing that tax dollars should be a source of funding. A majority also opposes so-called Super PACs funding political campaigns. Instead, Americans favor candidates spending their own money, individuals making personal contributions and regulated political action committees (PACs) providing funding.

The survey, conducted May 8-23, 2013, by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, is based on telephone interviews with 1,604 adults living in the continental United States.

Lack of Trust Translates Into Perceived Need for Regulation

Some 52 percent of Americans believe government regulation of business usually does more harm than good, while 44 percent believe it is necessary to protect the public interest, according to the 2013 Public Affairs Pulse survey.

Read More

graphic09_Government-regulation

The survey also took a look at opinions toward the level of government regulation. Most Americans believe there is either too much government regulation of business (35%) or just the right amount (38%). Only a quarter believe there is not enough regulation taking place.

graphic10_Levels-Gov-Regulation

However, when it comes to the regulation of specific industries, the less trustworthy the public perceives an industry to be, the more likely it is to say there’s too little regulation of that industry. For example, health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and banks/financial institutions are ranked as less trustworthy than others. These are also the top three on the list of industries that are considered under-regulated.

Yet this relationship does not seem to work in the other direction. Higher levels of trust do not drive down perceptions of the need for regulation. Rather, those who find an industry more trustworthy are more likely to say it has the right amount of regulation.

graphic03_Trust-by-sector

graphic11_Regulation-by-company-type

Americans Look to Private Sector for Help

A majority of Americans find the federal government wasteful and lack faith in its ability to solve the nation’s problems, so they’re looking to the private sector for help.

Read More

Some 51 percent of Americans say the federal government is often wasteful and inefficient, while only 9 percent say it is well-run and efficient, according to the 2013 Public Affairs Pulse survey.

Major companies score reasonably well on this question, with only 17 percent of Americans saying they are wasteful and 28 percent saying they are well-run. (The majority believe big firms fall somewhere between the two extremes.)

Amid this perceived lack of government efficiency and the fact that only 37 percent of the public express a lot or some trust and confidence that the federal government will solve the country’s most pressing problems, Americans are turning to the private sector for help.

A majority think major companies should take on more responsibility to help solve problems that have traditionally been the responsibility of government, such as providing community services like food banks (70%), improving the quality of education (64%) and improving the quality and affordability of health care (62%).

In addition, a majority say it’s more important to keep taxes at current levels (53%) than to maintain current levels of government services (39%). And 58 percent say it’s more important to keep taxes level, while 33 percent are more concerned about preserving government jobs.

These views may help explain why the public has not been more outraged by the budget sequestration, which implements federal spending cuts mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011.

Most Americans Favor Business Over Government

With a gradually improving economy, a majority of Americans are feeling positive toward businesses — both large and small — but remain unhappy with the federal government, which many consider wasteful and inefficient. State governments score better than Washington, but both fall short of the private sector.

Read More

 

Three in five Americans (60%) have a very favorable or somewhat favorable view of major companies, according to the 2013 Public Affairs Pulse survey, while just 41 percent have a favorable view of the federal government. Small businesses get the highest marks, at 87 percent.

At the same time, nearly 55 percent of Americans express a lot or some trust and confidence that major companies will do the right thing, while 44 percent express not too much or no such trust and confidence. In contrast, on another question, only 37 percent of the public express a lot or some trust and confidence that the federal government will solve the most important problems facing the country. Sixty-two percent say they have not too much or no confidence in the government’s ability to achieve these goals.

Consequently, a majority of Americans think major companies should take on more responsibility to help solve problems that have traditionally been the responsibility of government, such as providing community services like food banks (70%), improving the quality of education (64%) and improving the quality and affordability of health care (62%).

Yet while the majority of the public has an unfavorable view of the federal government, Millennials and minority group members have a much more positive opinion of Washington.

Fifty-one percent of Millennials (ages 18-32) give the federal government favorable scores, compared with only 44 percent of Gen X-ers, 35 percent of Baby Boomers and 34 percent of Matures (ages 68 and up).

And while more than three in five white Americans hold unfavorable views of the federal government (34% favorable-64% unfavorable), African-Americans and Hispanic Americans hold strongly positive views (60% favorable to 38% unfavorable and 62% favorable to 33% unfavorable, respectively).

How Millennials’ Views Differ

Though they’ve taken a hard hit from the Great Recession, Millennials are more satisfied with the way things are going in this country today and more supportive of government than older Americans are. They’re also largely positive toward business, though they’re less likely to trust major companies.

Read More

“It’s easy to assume that young people are more likely to be cynical about the private sector and the role of big business in our society,” says Public Affairs Council President Doug Pinkham. “In reality, the new Pulse survey shows that 62 percent of the Millennial generation — people ages 18 to 32 — actually have a favorable opinion of major companies. Why? Well, they really like the products and services sold by big firms.”

“However, they don’t feel nearly as trusting of big companies as people in older generations,” he says.

Millennials (ages 18-32) are split on how satisfied they are with the way things are going, with 42 percent satisfied and 51 percent unsatisfied, according to the 2013 Public Affairs Pulse survey. But those divided views are far less negative than those of Gen X-ers, of whom only 31 percent are satisfied. And Millennials are almost giddy compared with Baby Boomers; only 20 percent of that generation feels satisfied with the way things are going today.

Though young people’s views of businesses big and small are pretty much in line with those of older Americans, Millennials are somewhat less likely to trust major companies. Forty-eight percent of Millennials trust big business, compared with 58 percent of Gen X-ers.

For specific industries, the trust picture is more complex. For example, Millennials are much more likely than Baby Boomers to say that banks are more trustworthy than other companies (25% vs. 14%). Millennials are also more likely than Baby Boomers to say energy companies are more trustworthy than other companies (21% vs. 8%).

But their views of the automobile industry are more negative, with 31 percent of Millennials saying the industry is less trustworthy than others, compared with 21 percent of Boomers. Likewise with food and beverage companies: 25 percent of Millennials say they are less trustworthy, in contrast to 16 percent of Baby Boomers who hold this opinion.

As for Washington, 51 percent of Millennials give the federal government favorable scores, compared with only 44 percent of Gen X-ers, 35 percent of Baby Boomers and 34 percent of Matures (ages 68 and up).

Regarding the private sector, Millennials are the most enthusiastic generation in saying major companies are doing a good job providing useful products and services, with nearly four in five of the group (79%) giving firms plaudits in this area.

For a generation facing a dramatically difficult job market, Millennials are also surprisingly more positive about companies’ role in creating jobs. Forty-four percent believe companies are turning in a strong performance on employment, while 53 percent disagree. Only 35 percent of Baby Boomers agree that companies are providing strong support for employment.

Yet Millennials do not applaud corporate performance when it comes to compensation. By 34 percent to 63 percent, this generation says big companies are not paying their employees fairly. That contrasts with the 48 percent to 41 percent positive split voiced by Matures.

In two other areas close to this generation’s values, major companies are not doing well. Almost two-thirds of Millennials (65%) say companies are doing a poor job on the environment. That is the most negative view from any generation. In addition, Millennials give a thumbs-down to corporate performance in supporting charities in their communities. Sixty-one percent say companies are not doing a good job, compared with only 41 percent of Matures who hold this view.

Consumer Feedback by Generation (and Overall)

Millennials are more likely than other generations to give feedback online (both positive and negative).

Fifty percent of this generation and 44 percent of Gen X-ers say they have posted positive comments about a company online. In contrast, only 29 percent of Baby Boomers have done so. And 40 percent of Millennials say they have become a fan of a company or “liked” a company online, while 38 percent of Gen X-ers have done so. Only 23 percent of Baby Boomers have taken this action.

While Millennials are less likely to post negative comments about corporations online than positive ones, they are still the generation most geared toward online feedback. Thirty-nine percent say they have posted negative comments about a company in some type of online venue, and 22 percent of Gen X-ers have followed suit. But only 17 percent of Baby Boomers and 12 percent of Matures have done so.

Overall, Americans tend to share more positive than negative views about a company online. Over the past five years, roughly one-third of consumers have posted positive reviews about a company on the Internet (36%) or have become a “fan” of a company through social media (30%). But only about one-quarter (24%) say they have posted negative reviews online. Complaints are generally made directly to a company, through letters, telephone calls or emails. Yet most consumers prefer to discuss both positive and negative experiences with family and friends.

Most Americans Favor Business Over Government

Americans have a diverse set of views regarding how to pay for political campaigns, and several of those views are at odds with the conventional wisdom.

Read More

According to the 2013 Public Affairs Pulse survey, the public is overwhelmingly opposed to using federal tax dollars to fund political campaigns, a frequently expressed goal of campaign finance reform groups. Many are also opposed to so-called Super PACs pouring money into elections.

How, then, should campaigns be financed? Americans favor candidates spending their own money, individuals making personal contributions and regulated political action committees (PACs) providing funding.

More specifically:

  • A significant number of Americans (89%) believe a candidate’s personal contributions should be at least a minor source of funding for political campaigns. Two-thirds of the public (65%) say these contributions should be a major source.

  • Americans are overwhelmingly opposed to using public financing to fund political campaigns. Fully two-thirds of the public (65%) think federal tax dollars should not be used at all as a source of funding. And only 20 percent say tax dollars should be a minor source.

  • Americans are wary of Super PACs: Half of Americans (50%) do not think they should be a source of campaign funding. Less than one-fifth of the public (16%) say Super PACs should be a major source of election dollars, while less than one-third (30%) say they should be a minor source.

  • Seven in ten Americans (73%) are supportive of the role of political action committees under the current limit of $5,000 per candidate per election. Thirty-four percent believe PACs should be a major source of campaign funding.

  • Seventy-nine percent think individual contributions should be at least a minor source of funding, while 44 percent say they should be a major source.

Methodology

Past Pulse Surveys

20232022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011

Slides and infographics highlighting survey results are available for members to use for company briefings. Our senior staff are also frequently called on to make presentations on topics covered in the Public Affairs Pulse.