There is no other way to put it: the American public views large corporations, banks and other financial institutions, and technology companies negatively. In November 2022, the Pew Research Center released a report conducted in October from Pew’s American Trends Panel. The survey methodology employed by Pew separated respondents by political party — Democrat and Republican. For “Big Business,” the results are deeply troubling and will have long-term social, political and economic consequences.
The key takeaways are that in 2022, 26% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents and 25% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say “that large corporations have a positive effect on the way things are going in the country these days,” with the total for both parties at 25%. In contrast, in 2019, 54% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents and 36% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents said “that large corporations have a positive effect on the way things are going in the country these days,” with the total for both parties at 36%.
For all survey respondents queried in 2022, 25% believe “that large corporations have a positive effect on the way things are going in the country these days,” versus in 2019, when 36% held such a favorable view.
How is this sentiment expressed among the Republican electorate being viewed by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives?
“The Republican Party is so much healthier now that we’ve divorced ourselves from corporate America,” said Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., the chairman of the Republican Study Committee, a caucus of House conservatives.
What should Big Business look forward to in the new Congress? Given Big Business’ embrace of social policies contrary to the views of their constituency, House Republicans will no longer be shielding Big Business from many regulatory, tax and trade policies brought by their House Democratic colleagues with their previous ardor. The same can be said for House committee hearings, as the new GOP House majority will likely be investigating Big Pharma and COVID-19, cryptocurrency failures in the financial sector, and censorship and privacy practices by Big Tech.
Who in the U.S. private sector will receive Republican support in Congress? In 2022, 80% of surveyed Americans (and 79% of Republicans) viewed small businesses (98.9% of American businesses have fewer than 500 employees) as having a positive effect on the way things are going in the country.
This sector, responsible for 62% of net new job creation (since 1995) and 46.8% of private sector employment in America, will receive strong support from the Republican-controlled House. Also, the oil and natural gas industry, under attack from the president, congressional Democrats and environmentalists, will have House Republican advocates who strongly support the American energy industry.
Thomas A. Hemphill is David M. French Distinguished professor of strategy, innovation and public policy in the School of Management, University of Michigan-Flint/InsideSources