Politics

Americans Who Say Economy, Politics Rigged Against Them Even Higher Than Right After Great Recession, Poll Shows

Screen Capture/PBS NewsHour

Most Americans think the country’s economic and political systems are rigged against them — at levels greater than in several decades, according to an NBC News poll released Thursday.

The new survey found that almost 6 in 10 voters presently feel the economic and political systems are weighted against people such as themselves, which ties a record high share over about 40 years of national polling from NBC News. Of those surveyed, 59% agreed with the statement that both systems are stacked against them, while 38% disagreed and 3% were unsure.

The share of voters who agreed with that premise tied a peak high in April 1992, a record set after NBC News first began polling this question in 1988, the outlet reported. The percentage of voters who currently agree that the U.S.’ economic and political systems are fixed against them was notably higher than the percentage who said the same when NBC asked the question in the aftermath of the Great Recession — which began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009 — the poll shows.

A minority of 47% of voters agreed with the notion that “economic and political systems are stacked against people like you” and 47% disagreed when NBC News polled Americans in May 2010.

“Government statistics say that the economy is doing alright, but millions of Americans are frustrated,” David Hebert, an economist with the American Institute for Economic Research, told the Daily Caller News Foundation on Thursday. “When in doubt, we should believe the people. They know more about their local conditions than any Bureau in Washington D.C.”

“The frustration that people feel is very real,” Herbert added. “Unfortunately, both parties propose variations of the same cure: more subsidies and more industrial policy. But that’s just going to lead to more political favoritism, where the well-connected receive government largesse, which is exactly what the American people are frustrated by.”

Moreover, 84% of voters polled in 2026 say they agree with the statement that “the very rich and powerful are above the law when they do something wrong, they look out for each other, using their power and connections to get special treatment” compared to 14% who disagree and 2% who were not sure.

Meanwhile, among respondents who agree with that sentiment, two-thirds said that the feeling that rich and powerful people are above the law has worsened over the past five or 10 years, while 29% said it has remained the same and 4% say it has improved, according to the newly released poll.

“The American people, by and large, are not anti-capitalism,” Herbert told the DCNF. “They’re anti-cronyism, where well-connected people get bailouts, tax breaks, and regulatory carveout. These crush the small businesses that are just trying to get ahead and reward the bigger, wealthier firms.”

“When a large corporation needs an exemption, they use their rolodex of contacts in the White House to secure a meeting with top officials,” he continued. “But when a small business feels the same, they have to fill out an online form and hope that some junior staffer somewhere in the Administration passes it up the chain. There’s nothing fair about that. It’s favoritism and it’s exactly what this poll reveals that American people are frustrated by.”

Two-thirds of independents along with 73% of Democrats view economic and political systems as stacked against them, according to the poll. The total number of Democrats who agree with that statement has risen by 26 points since September 2022, NBC News reported.

The survey also shows 44% of Republicans now say the country’s political and economic systems are stacked against them, marking a decline of 21 points since September 2022.

Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt told NBC News the new polling suggests “historic levels of anger and disgust with our political and economic systems.”

“It is a series of warning signs for the establishment and leaders of the country that Americans are deeply dissatisfied and looking for change,” Horwitt, who conducted the survey along with GOP pollster Bill McIntruff of Public Opinion Strategies, explained.

Some recent polling has shown warning signs for the Republican Party ahead of the November midterms. A CBS News/YouGov poll conducted in late February found that just 37% of voters approved of President Donald Trump’s handling of the economy, while 63% disapproved.

Earlier this week, Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul cautioned that his fellow Republicans may grapple with a “disastrous election” in November if oil prices in the U.S. do not begin to fall, The Hill reported on Thursday.

Still, the White House claimed in a Feb. 24 fact sheet that Trump “has moved swiftly to restore affordability and rebuild the American Dream for hardworking Americans” during his second term.

NBC News’ poll surveyed 1,000 registered U.S. voters from Feb. 27-March 3 by a combination of telephone interviews and an online survey sent via text message. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.