Economy: Poll supports govt. intervention in crisis

A new poll finds that the populations of a majority of nations surveyed feel that their governments are not doing enough to address the global economic crisis. However, respondents are split over whether their governments should use protectionist measures to bring about recovery. The poll of over 18,000 people was conducted by WorldPublicOpinion.org, a programme of the University of Maryland's Programme on International Policy Attitudes, and represents a diverse group of 19 countries, as well as Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. Of the 22 populations polled, a majority or plurality of respondents said that their governments "do not go far enough" in addressing the economic crisis. Among those most discontented with their governments' responses were Ukraine (85 percent), South Korea (80 percent), Poland (72 percent), and Kenya (71 percent). On average, 56 percent of those polled said their governments are not doing enough to address the economic crisis. The U.S. and India stand out in the findings as countries in which the greatest proportion of respondents said that their governments were "going too far" in their policies to counteract the economic crisis. Thirty-seven percent of Indians agreed with this statement, as well as 31 percent of U.S. citizens. In contrast, only 15 percent of the total respondents said their governments were doing too much.