According to a new Gallup poll, Americans everywhere are still not too fond of the government reaching sizes more untrustworthy than it already is. This number isn't small, either. Gallup says that big government is the number one fear for 67 percent of Americans.
As businessman Donald Trump prepares to become the nation's 45th president, Americans continue to express more concern about the threat big government poses to the U.S. than big business or big labor. Two in three Americans (67%) identify big government as the country's biggest threat. That is below the record high of 72% in 2013 but still on the higher end of the range since the mid-1960s.
It's peak in 2013 was due to the passage of laws such as the Affordable Care Act. This is also around the same time that Edward Snowden revealed the information he had about government spying by the NSA on U.S. citizens.
When it comes to who is afraid of overbearing government, Republicans tend to take the biggest slice of the cake at 81 percent. This is down from 88 percent in 2105, but with a Republican president-elect ready to take the reigns, moods have softened. Still, it remains in the highs over Independents who clock in their distrust at 67 percent.
While Democrats are the least worried group, they are split in half on the issue, with 51 percent saying they're distrustful of big government.
If historical patterns are to be believed, Republicans fear of big government may abate as the Trump administration settles itself into power. When George W. Bush was in office, Republican fear of big government sank to 62 percent. Of course, with so many on the right distrustful of Trump as is, this number may remain slightly higher through his presidency.
