Americans Wary of Increased Presidential Power, Poll Finds
A new poll on constitutional attitudes finds that Americans are more supportive of the rule of law, even at the expense of public safety, and are increasingly wary of presidential powers used to improve the economy.
Seventy five percent of those polled said they opposed giving the president more power, at the expense of the power of Congress and the courts, if they thought it would improve the economy, according to results (PDF) of a poll by the Associated Press and the National Constitution Center. Last year, 66 percent opposed increased presidential powers to help the economy.
In a related topic, Americans strongly oppose allowing the government to take partial ownership of private enterprise, even if it would prevent them from going out of business (71 percent) or losing jobs (66 percent), or if the failure of the industry would seriously harm the economy (60 percent), according to a press release (PDF).
Americans are increasingly supportive of the rule of law, according to the poll. Sixty-one percent of the respondents said the rule of law should be followed, even if it comes at the expense of public safety, up from 54 percent last year.
Hat tip to the Volokh Conspiracy.
