Big Business

In your opinion which of the following will be the biggest threat to the country in the future -- big business, big labor, or big government?

In general, do you think there is too much, too little or about the right amount of government regulation of business and industry?

Would you like to see major corporations have more influence in this nation, less influence, or keep their influence as it is now?

Do you think big business does -- or does not -- have too much influence over the decisions made by the Bush administration?

Thinking for a moment about the corporate scandals that happened earlier this year at companies like Enron and WorldCom, how effective do you think the measures taken by Congress and federal regulators have been to fix these problems -- very effective, somewhat effective, not too effective, or not effective at all?

How much confidence do you have that the information you get about a company's finances from its official records will be accurate -- a great deal, a moderate amount, not much, or none at all?

Just your best guess, please say how important a reason [RANDOM ORDER] is/are for the current state of the economy. Is it/Are they -- one of the most important reasons, a major reason but not the most important, a minor reason, or not a reason at all?

Greed and corruption among corporate executives

President George W. Bush's economic policies

Former President Bill Clinton's economic policies

The September 11^th terrorist attacks

The performance of the stock market

The normal business cycle

The collapse of many Internet and computer companies in the last few years

Would you say top executives of a larger corporation taking improper actions to help themselves at the expense of the corporation -- is very widespread, is somewhat widespread, only happens occasionally, or never happens in the business world?

Do you think the problem of corporate corruption has gotten worse in the past few years, or has it always been like this?

Do you think that new legislation and increased regulation of business can have a major effect on correcting the problem of corporate corruption, or not?

Do you think George W. Bush is -- or is not -- doing enough to deal with the problem of corporate corruption?

Do you think corruption among top corporate executives is worse now than it was before President Bush took office, or not?

Do you think George W. Bush is more interested in -- [ROTATED: protecting the interests of ordinary Americans (or is he more interested in) protecting the interests of large corporations]?

[BASED ON 508 NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM B]

Do you approve or disapprove of the way [ROTATED] are handling the issue of corporate corruption?

The Republicans in Congress

The Democrats in Congress

Do you think -- [ITEMS ROTATED] -- are more interested in -- [ROTATED: protecting the interests of ordinary Americans (or are they more interested in) protecting the interests of large corporations]?

[BASED ON 496 NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM A]

The Democrats in Congress

The Republicans in Congress

From what you have heard or read about George W. Bush's activities at Harken Energy Corporation, which of the following statements best describes your view of his actions in this matter -- [ROTATED: he did something illegal, he did something unethical but nothing illegal, or he did not do anything seriously wrong]?

[BASED ON 496 NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM A]

From what you have heard or read about Dick Cheney's activities at the Halliburton Company, which of the following statements best describes your view of his actions in this matter -- [ROTATED: he did something illegal, he did something unethical but nothing illegal, or he did not do anything seriously wrong]?

[BASED ON 508 NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM B]

When a large corporation is audited by one of the country's major accounting firms, how confident are you that the reports by the accounting firm provide an accurate assessment of the corporation's financial situation? Are you -- very confident, somewhat confident, not too confident, or not confident at all?

Do you think the ways that large corporations are audited need -- [ROTATED: a complete overhaul, major reforms, minor reforms, (or) no reforms]?

How closely have you followed the news about George W. Bush's proposals to deal with corporate accounting scandals -- very closely, somewhat closely, not too closely, or not at all?

[BASED ON 508 NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM A]

Overall, do you think Bush's proposals will -- or will not -- be effective in helping to prevent corporate accounting scandals in the future?

[BASED ON 508 NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM A]

How closely have you followed the news about George W. Bush's involvement in alleged accounting irregularities and insider stock trading while he was a director at Harken Energy Corporation in Texas in the early 1990s -- very closely, somewhat closely, not too closely, or not at all?

[BASED ON 496 NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM B]

Which comes closer to your view about the laws that regulate corporations in the United States -- [ROTATED: the current laws are not sufficient and new laws are needed, (or) the current laws are sufficient but need to be enforced more strictly]?

As you may know, several large corporations such as Enron and WorldCom have admitted to misconduct regarding their companies' finances. Which of these statements do you think best describes this situation for the country as a whole -- [ROTATED: it is a crisis, it is a major problem for the country but is not a crisis, it is a minor problem for the country, (or)it is not a problem for the country at all]?

Just your best guess, how many more cases of misconduct by large corporations do you think there will be in the next year -- [ROTATED: many more cases, a few more cases, or no more cases]?

How confident are you that George W. Bush will take effective action to make sure large corporations act responsibly? Are you -- very confident, somewhat confident, not too confident, or not at all confident?

To what extent do you think that the decrease in the government regulation of corporations is to blame for the recent scandals involving corporations -- a great deal, a moderate amount, not much, or not at all?

Do you blame the --[ROTATED: the Republicans (or the) Democrats] -- more for the decrease in the government regulation of corporations?

[BASED ON 706 ADULTS WHO BLAME THE DECREASE IN GOVERNMENT REGULATION OF CORPORATIONS FOR THE RECENT SCANDALS]

Do the recent scandals involving large corporations make you less likely to invest in the stock market, or not?

Next, we'd like to get your overall opinion of some companies in the news. As I read each name, please say if you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of this company -- or if you have never heard of it. First, ... How about ... [ITEM A, THEN ITEMS B-C ROTATED]?

Enron, the energy corporation

Arthur Andersen, the accounting firm

As you may know, Congress' investigative arm, the General Accounting Office, says it will file a lawsuit to force the White House to release information about the consultations with business leaders by Vice President Cheney's energy task force. Do you think Vice President Cheney should -- or should not -- turn over information to Congress about the task force meetings?

Which of the following comes closer to your view about the Enron situation -- [ROTATED: it shows that the U.S. needs new laws to regulate the management of large corporations, (or) it shows that the U.S. needs to enforce existing laws better, but does not need new laws]?

How closely have you been following the news concerning the Enron energy corporation -- very closely, somewhat closely, not too closely, or not at all?

How important an issue do you think the Enron situation is to the nation -- very important, somewhat important, not too important, or not important at all?

Which of the following statements best describes your view of the actions of executives of the Enron energy corporation -- [ROTATED: they did something illegal, they did something unethical but nothing illegal, or they did not do anything seriously wrong]?

Which of the following statements best describes your view of members of the Bush administration's involvement with the Enron corporation -- [ROTATED: they did something illegal, they did something unethical but nothing illegal, or they did not do anything seriously wrong]?

Which of the following statements best describes your view of the Republicans in Congress involvement with the Enron corporation -- [ROTATED: they did something illegal, they did something unethical but nothing illegal, or they did not do anything seriously wrong]?

Which of the following statements best describes your view of the Democrats in Congress involvement with the Enron corporation -- [ROTATED: they did something illegal, they did something unethical but nothing illegal, or they did not do anything seriously wrong]?

Which of the following do you think is the most important issue in the Enron situation -- [ROTATED: the fact that Enron contributed millions of dollars to politicians and may have expected favorable treatment in return, the fact that the actions of Enron executives led a large corporation to suddenly collapse and go bankrupt (or) the fact that many Enron employees lost their jobs and their retirement savings while Enron executives made millions]?

Do you think Congress should -- or should not -- investigate the contacts that members of the Bush administration had with Enron executives?

If you had to choose, would you say the problems associated with Enron involve -- [ROTATED: mostly the Republican Party (or do they involve) the Republican and Democratic Parties about equally]?

Which of the following comes closer to your view -- [ROTATED: the Bush administration is trying to cover up its contacts with Enron, (or) the Bush administration is cooperating as much as possible in letting the public know about its contacts with Enron]?

Do you think the practices of Enron executives are -- [ROTATED: worse than what other business executives have done in the past (or are they) no worse than what other business executives have done in the past]?

[BASED ON 514 NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM A; ±5 PCT. PTS.]

Thinking about the practices of the top executives at Enron, do you think similar practices also occur -- [ROTATED: at most other large corporations, at some, at only a few, or at no other large corporations]?

[BASED ON 487 NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM B; ±5 PCT. PTS.]

As you may know, Enron executives have made major donations to George W. Bush's presidential election campaign. Do you think Enron executives felt they would -- or would not -- get special treatment on policy issues in return for making these contributions?

[BASED ON 493 NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM A; ±4 PCT. PTS.]

Do you think Bush felt he would -- or would not -- owe Enron executives any special treatment on policy issues by accepting these contributions?

[BASED ON 493 NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM A; ±5 PCT. PTS.]

As you may know, Enron executives have made major donations to election campaigns for some Democrats in Congress. Do you think Enron executives felt they would -- or would not -- get special treatment on policy issues in return for making these contributions?

[BASED ON 518 NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM B; ±4 PCT. PTS.]

Do you think these Democrats in Congress felt they would -- or would not -- owe Enron executives any special treatment on policy issues by accepting these contributions?

[BASED ON 518 NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM B; ±5 PCT. PTS.]