Public Opinion's Tilt Against Private Enterprise

Abstract

Drawing on hundreds of identically worded questions, this DataWatch finds that Americans now feel genuine concern for the health status of other people. This is a dramatic development in a country that has encouraged individuals to isolate themselves. The second finding is that necessity has pushed Americans into grudgingly accepting government taxation and regulation as the most feasible way to provide what is by now an expected benefit: secure access to essential health care. Evidence of Americans' concerns and of the tilt away from laissez-faire commitments challenges two of the most sacred conventional assumptions about public opinion in the United States.