Americans Grow Weary of Government Intervention in Marketplace

Republican Senate candidate Scott Brown's surge in Massachusetts comes as a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found increasing voter unease over the federal government's expanding role in the private sector.

For the first time, a majority of Americans—53%—disapprove of the government's increased role in the economy since the financial crisis, up from 44% in March. And 48% said Washington was doing too many things better left to businesses and individuals, a plurality seen in polling since September.

The government's takeover of General Motors, the biggest economic intervention that happened solely on Mr. Obama's watch, drew the strongest negative reaction. Nearly two-thirds of Americans surveyed, 65%, disapproved of the government's taking a majority stake in the troubled auto maker. Independents were highly critical of the move, as were Republicans.

Americans Grow Weary of Government Intervention in Marketplace