What the American People Think About a Mortgage Bailout

BY PAT SUMMERS

Dozens of mortgage bailout polls have been conducted since the beginning of this year. For the most part, Americans seem split on whether or not the government should intervene to ease the foreclosure crisis.

The Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg Poll

In a nationwide telephone poll of 2,208 adults conducted May 1-8, the LA Times and Bloomberg found that 60 percent of people support 'the federal government providing assistance to individual homeowners who have been caught between rising mortgage payments and falling home values.'

Source: LA Times

Only 25 percent of people opposed government assistance and 15 percent said they weren't sure. Low income respondents seemed to be the most sympathetic in this poll. Sixty-eight percent of people earning less than $40,000 per year were in favor of government assistance. In contrast, only 40 percent of people who earned $101,000 or more supported the idea of government help.

The CNN Poll

A CNN/Opinion Research Poll conducted between April 28 and April 30 found that 49 percent of the 1,008 adults surveyed thought that homeowners facing default should receive special treatment. Forty-eight percent were against assistance for homeowners, and the remaining three percent were undecided.

Source: CNN

A similar poll conducted by CNN in December of 2007 had similar results: 51 percent believed special treatment was in order, while 46 percent were against a bailout.

The Gallup Poll

A Gallup Poll conducted March 24 through March 27 asked 1,005 adults if the federal government should take steps to help prevent people from losing their homes because they can't pay their mortgages. Fifty-six percent of people said yes, while 42 percent said no.

Source: Gallup

Democrats favored federal intervention by a 61 percent to 27 percent margin. Fifty percent of Independents and 40 percent of Republicans supported help from the federal government.

The Rasmussen Poll

Between March 19 and March 20, Rasmussen Reports surveyed 1,000 adults about mortgage bailouts. One of the questions they asked during the telephone survey was: should homeowners who borrowed more than they could afford be helped out by the federal government?

Source: Rasmussen Reports

Fifty-three percent of those who responded said no. Twenty-nine said yes and 17 percent were undecided. The same people were also asked whether or not the government should help banks who made bad loans. Sixty one percent said no and 15 percent said yes.