A poll commissioned by a Republican communications firm said that less than half of respondents support financial regulatory reform.
The survey of 1,001 adults nationwide was carried out by YouGov Polimetrix and commissioned by Hamilton Place Strategies, a firm run by communications officials from the George W. Bush administration.
Even though a minority of those polled wanted reform, supporters still outnumbered opponents. Among respondents, 44% were strongly or somewhat in favor of reform, while 30% strongly or somewhat opposed reform. More respondents were strongly in favor, 21%, than the 16% who strongly oppose reform.
When asked how concerned they were that "Congress will pass new … regulations that will actually raise costs for average consumers and small businesses or reduce the availability of loans … ,"just over half — 52% — of the respondents expressed significant concern.
"There are more people who have concerns than who have support," Taylor Griffin, a partner at Hamilton Place Strategies, said in a conference call releasing the survey.
