Poll: Majority of Americans Disagree with President Obama on the Size and Scope of Government

The latest Reason-Rupe poll finds that 52 percent of Americans disagree with President Obama's views on the proper size and power of the government, while 37 percent generally agree with the president on these issues.

Sixty-eight percent of Democrats agree with the president, and 20 percent disagree with him on the size and power of government. In contrast, a majority (59 percent) of independents disagree with President Obama, while 31 percent agree. Less surprisingly, 86 percent of Republicans say they disagree with Obama on government's role while 9 percent agree.

Private sector workers are more likely to disagree with Obama on government's proper role by a margin of 54 to 35 percent, while public sector workers are evenly divided.

While younger millennials are slightly more likely to agree with Obama, older millennials are not. Among 25-34 year olds—the millennials first energized by Obama's 2008 presidential campaign—a majority says they disagree with Obama by a margin of 53 to 35 percent. Younger millennials (18-24) are evenly divided with a plurality (48 percent) who agree with the president, while 43 percent disagree.

Although only a third of older millennials say they agree with President Obama's view on government's power and size, 47 percent of them also approve of his general job performance. This suggests that while young people tend to be more supportive than older age cohorts of President Obama, millennials are willing to disagree with him on critical issues.

Another difference emerges among young nonwhite and white millennials. Nearly two-thirds of white millennials say they generally disagree with Obama on the power of government and 25 percent agree with him. However, among nonwhite millennials 58 percent agree with the president and a third disagree.

Sixty-one percent of white Americans disagree with Obama and 68 percent of African-American disagree with him on government's proper size and power. Latinos, however, are evenly divided.

 Nationwide telephone poll conducted Dec 4-8 2013 interviewed 1011 adults on both mobile (506) and landline (505) phones, with a margin of error +/- 3.7%. Princeton Survey Research Associates International executed the nationwide Reason-Rupe survey. Columns may not add up to 100% due to rounding. Full poll results, detailed tables, and methodology found here. Sign up for notifications of new releases of the Reason-Rupe poll here.