AAF Memo On Dodd-Frank Survey

8/20/2019 AAF Memo On Dodd-Frank Survey

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Memo to Interested Parties

From: Wes Anderson

Date: 2/8/2016

RE: Dodd-Frank Survey

Methodology

The following survey was conducted by OnMessage Inc. in 30Congressional Districts (CD’s).Live telephone interviews were conducted January 18-20, 2016. The survey consists of 1200

likely voters and was stratified by geography to reflect historic voter presidential cycle turnout.The margin of error for this study is +/-2.82%

We recently came out of the field with a survey for American Action Forum of 18 congressional

districts across the United States, investigating Dodd-Frank and other key issues related to thefinancial services industry and congressional action. The districts were broken into three groups

to gain an understanding of the views of different parts of the population. The groupings were as

follows: conservative stronghold districts (R+9 to R+19), conservative advantage districts (R+3to R+8), and swing districts (D+8 to R+2)

Key Findings

Attitudes Toward Government Regulation

More voters surveyed believe that “big government” has had more of a negative impacton their personal financial situation than “big Wall St. Banks.”

Which of the following do you think has had more of a negative impact on your personal financial situation

over the last decade, (ROTATE) big government or big Wall Street Banks.

47% Big Government

33% Big Wall Street Banks

21% DK/Refuse (Vol)

Bigger Negative Impact Competitive Advantage Stronghold

Big Government 47 50 50

Big Banks 33 37 26

Independents are closely divided on this issue with 39% citing big government, 36%

citing big banks and 25% unable to choose between the two.



A majority of voters surveyed believe the avalanche of new federal regulations issuedunder the Obama Administration is strangling our economy, killing jobs, and eating away

at our freedoms.

As you may know, there has been a lot of debate these days about the rate of new federal regulations. With the

in mind which of the following statements comes closest to your opinion? (ROTATE)

54% Some people say that under President Obama the federal government has issued an avalanche of

new regulations which are strangling our economy, killing jobs and eating away at our freedoms.

35% Other people say that under President Obama the federal government has finally issued much

needed regulations to protect our environment, consumers, and keep Wall Street in check.

11% DK/Refused (Vol)

Govt. Regulation Competitive Advantage Stronghold

Strangle Economy 52 51 60

Much Needed 37 40 28

Blame for the 2008 Financial Crisis

When offered three reasons for the 2008 financial crisis 45% of the voters cited “greedy

Wall St. executives.” Only 30% blamed government regulations that forced banks to

make bad loans, while 10% blamed “natural economic cycles.”

Thinking again about financial crisis of 2008, please tell me which of the following was the greatest cause of

the crisis (RANDOMIZE)

30% Government regulations that forced banks to make millions of risky home loans.

45% Greedy Wall Street executives who gambled on the housing market bubble, endangering the

financial system.

10% Natural economic cycles that all but guaranteed that a recession would occur.

10% All of the above (Vol)

5% DK/Refuse (Vol)

This finding reinforces the fact that voters, especially Independents, are certain that Wall

St. Greed played a major role in the 2008 financial crisis. But hang on and keep reading.

CRITICAL FINDING: A strong majority (65%) agree with the statement that the

O bama Administration’s assertion that the lack of government regulation was to blame is

wrong. In fact, that question pits the administration’s narrative against the narrative that

government policies that encouraged reckless loans was to blame for the 2008 crisis.This message doesn’t include greedy Wall St. Executives. There’s a very important

message lesson in this these findings. Specifically, voters, especially Independents,

believe that those on the left will always be tougher than those on the right when it comes

to Wall St. executives. At the same time, voters, especially Independents, tend to believe

that right-leaning policymakers will be more critical of “big” institutions than their

colleagues on the left. In short, targeting the excesses of individual Wall St. leaders



favors the left, but addressing big financial institutions with careful skepticism (as they

do with big government) is effective for those on the right.

Please tell me if you agree or disagree with the following statement. Although the Obama Administration

claims that lack of regulation caused the financial crisis of 2008, the real cause was misguided federal policy

that encourage banks to offer loans to people who could not pay them back, leading to a nationwide real estate

crash. (IF AGREE/DISAGREE, ASK: And do you strongly agree/disagree or just somewhat agree/disagree?)

65% TOTAL AGREE

30% Strongly Agree

35% Somewhat Agree

26% TOTAL DI SAGREE

12% Strongly Disagree

14% Somewhat Disagree

9% DK/Refused (Vol)

Competitive Advantage Stronghold

Agree 61 66 68Disagree 29 28 23

Conservatives Independents Liberals

Agree 73 63 55

Disagree 18 28 36

CRITICAL FINDING: Sixty-three percent of voters surveyed say they are unfamiliar

with Dodd-Frank. Associating Dodd-Frank with overly burdensome regulations and a big

government effort makes the public more likely to oppose the law.

CRITICAL FINDING: The current favor/oppose on Dodd-Frank is very evenly split at37% favor to 39% oppose with 24% undecided. Independents favor Dodd-Frank 43% to31% with another 26% uncertain on the issue. At the same time, six in ten (61%)

Conservatives oppose Dodd-Frank. Dodd-Frank has little definition outside of the right-

leaning base and is more favored than opposed among Independents. This poll indicatesthat the more voters know about Dodd-Frank, the more likely they are to oppose it.



Three messages resonate best when discussing the failures of the Dodd-Frank Act. Theyinclude:

o Dodd-Frank was aimed at Wall St. but hit Main St. hard, killing many small,

community banks.o Unlike small community banks, Dodd-Frank allows big Wall St. banks to get

special treatment when they get in trouble.

o Dodd-Frank hurts regular people. Over 75% of banks offered free checking

before Dodd-Frank. Now that percentage is down to just 39%.

One more message was effective with Conservatives:

o Dodd-Frank makes bailouts for too-big-to-fail banks a requirement of federal law.

This message did well with Independents as well.

ConclusionAfter providing more details about the Dodd-Frank Act, voters surveyed turned sharply againstthe Act, 22% favor, 65% oppose. Over 60% of voters in Competitive, Advantage, and

Stronghold districts opposed the Act after hearing more about it. Post-message opposition was

highest among Conservatives and Independents, and 41% of Liberals opposed the Act.

Associating Dodd-Frank with this administration’s overall financial regulatory effort shifts voteropinion toward opposition of the Act.

AAF Memo On Dodd-Frank Survey

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