Public Affairs Council 2017 Pulse Survey

Key Points1. Trump and Clinton Voters Agree: Washington Can’t be

Trusted

• Nearly two-thirds (63%) of conservatives say elected officials in Washington have low honesty and ethical standards, despite Republican control of the White House and Congress

2. Confidence in Major Companies is Low

• Only 47% of Americans trust major companies will behave ethically

3. Less-Trusted Industries More Likely to be Viewed as Under-Regulated

• Compared to other industries, technology companies are considered the most trustworthy and least in need of new regulations

• Pharmaceutical and health insurance firms are considered the least trustworthy and also the most under-regulated

4. Public Approves of Lobbying to Protect Jobs, Level Playing Field and Support Social Causes

• 61% approve of corporate lobbying to protect jobs, 54% to level playing field and 53% to support social causes

5. A Quarter of Americans Don’t Approve of CEOs Serving on Trump Advisory Committees

• And 28% think serving on these committees is an active endorsement of the president

6. News about Business is Probably Bad

• Americans are more than twice as likely to assume a media story about a major company is negative than positive, and 17% say negative coverage is mainly a result of the media’s anti-business bias.

7. Social Media has Limited Impact on Public Opinion of Major Companies

• 61% of young Americans (ages 18 to 29) say their opinions of companies are shaped by social media, compared to 45% of Americans overall

1

MethodologyThis poll was conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of the Public Affairs Council from September 12-15, among a national sample of 2,201 adults. The interviews were conducted online, and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on age, race/ethnicity, and gender. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points.

Confidence in Major Companies is Low

Less-Trusted Industries More Likely to be Viewed as Under-Regulated

2

News about Business is Probably Bad

Trump and Clinton Voters Agree: Washington Can’t be Trusted

Public Approves of Lobbying to Protect Jobs, Level Playing Field and Support Social Causes

A Quarter of Americans Don’t Approve of CEOs Serving on Trump Advisory Committees

Social Media has Limited Impact on Public Opinion of Major Companies

3

Trump and Clinton Voters Agree: Washington Can’t be Trusted

58% of Trump voters, 59% of Clinton voters, and 63% of conservatives agree elected officials in Washington have low honesty and ethical standards despite Republican control of Congress and the White House

4

How would you rate the honesty and ethical standards of each of the following? Elected officials in Washington

7%

9%

9%

6%

6%

7%

25%

28%

25%

23%

25%

26%

56%

52%

56%

63%

59%

58%

13%

11%

9%

8%

10%

9%

Democrats

Republicans

Liberal

Conservative

2016 Clinton Voter

2016 Trump Voter

High honesty and ethical standards Average honesty and ethical standards Low honesty and ethical standards Don't know / No opinion

More than half of conservatives and Trump voters hold unfavorable views towards the federal government

5

Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of the following? The federal government

33%

46%

36%

40%

30%

42%

59%

46%

59%

53%

63%

52%

7%

8%

4%

7%

7%

6%

Democrats

Republicans

Liberal

Conservative

2016 Clinton Voter

2016 Trump Voter

Total favorable Total unfavorable Don't know / No opinion

6

Confidence in Major Companies is Low

Just over half of Americans (52%) hold a favorable view of major companies

7

Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of the following?

48%

13%

10%

9%

39%

36%

42%

27%

4%

29%

29%

35%

13%

9%

20%

8%

10%

10%

9%

Small businesses

Your state government

Major companies

The federal government

Very favorable Somewhat favorable Not too favorable Not at all favorable Don't know / No opinion

Only 47% of Americans have trust that major companies will behave ethically

8

10%

37% 36%

8% 8%

0%

20%

40%

A lot Some Not too much None Don't know / No opinion

In general, how much trust and confidence do you have in MAJOR COMPANIES to behave ethically?

9

CEOs of major companies are seen as having nearly as low ethical standards as Washington elected officials

How would you rate the honesty and ethical standards of each of the following?

41%

18%

12%

11%

11%

9%

7%

43%

56%

47%

57%

41%

33%

24%

5%

10%

27%

17%

35%

43%

55%

12%

16%

15%

15%

13%

15%

14%

Small business owners

Employees of major companies who are not part of management

People who work for federal government agencies that provide services, administer programs,

or otherwise support national priorities

Mid-level managers who work for major companies

Elected officials in your state and local government

CEOs of major companies

Elected officials in Washington

High honesty and ethical standards Average honesty and ethical standards Low honesty and ethical standards Don't know / No opinion

10

Americans say the most important thing major companies can do for their communities and country is ensure employees are behaving ethically

Here are some different ways major companies could help their local communities or the country as a whole. How important or unimportant is it for companies to take the following actions?

59%

54%

44%

42%

33%

29%

22%

25%

32%

34%

37%

36%

6%

6%

8%

10%

12%

15%

3%

3%

4%

3%

5%

6%

11%

11%

12%

11%

12%

15%

Make sure employees behave ethically

Minimize any negative impact the company has on the environment

Take a leadership role in helping society in ways that go beyond operating a business

Make financial contributions to charities

Encourage their employees to volunteer their time to help others

Offer to help government solve problems

Very important Somewhat important Not too important Not at all important Don't know / No opinion

11

Americans like what they buy from corporations, but they’re not impressed with business efforts on pay equity and social responsibility

Do you think major companies are doing a good job or not doing a good job in the following areas?

61%

53%

47%

43%

35%

31%

30%

22%

Providing useful products and services

Serving their customers

Serving their stockholders

Creating jobs

Contributing time and money to support their local communities

Paying their employees fairly

Protecting the environment

Paying their top executives fairly, without overpaying them

Generally doing a good job

12

Less-Trusted Industries More Likely to be Viewed as Under-Regulated

13

51%

47%

37%

35%

31%

23%

21%

18%

18%

13%

14%

23%

20%

16%

19%

25%

24%

29%

23%

27%

28%

32%

40%

46%

42%

44%

40%

13%

12%

12%

13%

13%

12%

12%

13%

13%

Pharmaceutical companies

Health insurance companies

Banks and other financial institutions

Energy companies

Automobile companies

Large retail companies, both online and traditional stores

Food and beverage companies

Manufacturing companies

Technology companies

Less trustworthy More trustworthy Just as trustworthy as other major companies Don't know / No opinion

Technology companies are seen as the most relatively trustworthy major companies, while healthcare companies like insurers and pharmaceutical firms are seen as least trustworthy

In your view, are the following types of major companies generally MORE or LESS trustworthy than other major companies?

14

Americans see pharmaceutical and health insurance companies, banks and energy firms as most under-regulated

In your view, is there too much, too little, or the right amount of government REGULATION of the following areas or sectors?

44%

40%

35%

33%

25%

23%

22%

21%

20%

19%

22%

28%

22%

22%

21%

22%

23%

29%

22%

21%

14%

13%

21%

20%

32%

31%

29%

26%

30%

32%

20%

20%

22%

24%

22%

24%

26%

24%

27%

27%

Pharmaceutical companies

Health insurance companies

Banks and other financial institutions

Energy companies

Food and beverage companies

Automobile companies

Manufacturing companies

Business in general

Technology companies

Large retail companies, both online and traditional stores

Too little government regulation on this Too much government regulation on this

The right amount of government regulation on this Don't know / No opinion

15

Americans are extremely split on whether government regulation of business is necessary for the public good, or does more harm than good

Which of the following comes closest to your view?

29% 27% 28%

16%

0%

10%

20%

30%

Government regulation of business is necessary to

protect the public interest

Government regulation of business usually does more

harm than good

Neither / Both equally Don't know / No opinion

16

Public Approves of Lobbying to Protect Jobs, Level Playing Field

and Support Social Causes

17

Protecting jobs is seen as by far the most appropriate reason for lobbying while Americans are split on securing government funding or grants

Do you consider each of the following types of lobbying by major companies to be acceptable or NOT acceptable?

61%

54%

53%

48%

47%

37%

15%

18%

21%

22%

24%

34%

23%

28%

26%

29%

28%

29%

Protecting jobs at the company

Creating a level playing field with competitors here and around the world

Supporting social causes

Opening new markets for the company

Reducing business costs

Securing government funding or grants

Yes, this is an acceptable form of lobbying No, this is not an acceptable form of lobbying Don't know / No opinion

If average folks were CEOs facing tough regulations, most would contact their representatives and work with other companies to try to change the laws

18

If you ran a company and were concerned about the impact of government laws and regulations on your business, which of the following actions would you be likely to take? Would you…

63%

61%

43%

39%

24%

19%

Personally contact your elected representatives to communicate your concerns

Find other companies with the same concerns and work together to try to change laws and regulations

Ask your employees if they are willing to contact their elected representatives to communicate your concerns

Make campaign contributions to elected representatives who agree with your views about laws and regulations

Hire a lobbyist to contact your elected representatives to communicate your concerns

Probably not take any actions and just leave laws and regulations the way they are

19

A Quarter of Americans Don’t Approve of CEOs Serving on Trump Advisory Committees

20

A quarter of Americans disapprove of CEOs serving on Trump advisory committees; only a third of Clinton voters disapprove, and only half of Trump voters approve

Do you approve or disapprove of business CEOs volunteering to help the federal government by serving on special committees toadvise the president?

14%

11%

22%

23%

21%

28%

24%

24%

24%

12%

16%

8%

12%

16%

7%

15%

11%

10%

Adults

2016: Clinton Voter

2016: Trump Voter

Strongly approve Somewhat approve Neither approve or disapprove Somewhat disapprove Strongly disapprove Don't know / No opinion

21

More than a quarter (28%) see CEOs serving on advisory committees as actively endorsing the president

When business CEOs serve on a federal government committee, does this mean they are actively endorsing the president or that theyare still able to hold independent political views?

28%

39%

33%

0%

20%

40%

Actively endorsing the president Still able to hold independent political views

Don't know / No opinion

One-third (32%) of Americans and more than one-quarter (27%) of Trump Voters think CEOs serve on Trump advisory committees to get laws changed to increase their profits

22

20%

18%

28%

6%

5%

7%

8%

7%

10%

9%

9%

8%

32%

42%

27%

4%

3%

2%

20%

16%

17%

Adults

2016: Clinton Voter

2016: Trump Voter

To use their knowledge and experience to improve public policy To keep the government from making mistakes

To improve government services for average people To become more popular with the public

To get laws changed to increase their profits None of the above

Don't know / No opinion

What do you think is the main reason a business CEO would volunteer to help the federal government by serving on a specialcommittee to advise the president?

23

News about Business is Probably Bad

24

When Americans see a media story about a major company they are unlikely to assume it is positive

When you see a media story about a major company, are you more likely to assume it is a positive or negative story?

15%

35%

39%

11%

0%

20%

40%

Positive Negative Neither positive nor negative Don't know

25

Four in 10 Americans (39%) say they assume a positive media story about a major company is due to the firm reporting good news, but 13% say it results from the media’s pro-business bias

If the media story you see is POSITIVE, which of the following do you think is the most likely reason?

39%

20%

8%

13%

20%

0%

20%

40%

The company had good news to report

Other people were saying good things about the

company

The company was probably not being honest

about the news

The media is pro-business so stories about major companies are mostly

positive

Don't know / No opinion

26

A third of Americans (34%) assume that a negative news story about a major company is due to the firm having bad news to report, but 17% say it results from the media’s anti-business bias

If the media story you see is NEGATIVE, which of the following do you think is the most likely reason?

34%

26%

17%

23%

0%

20%

40%

The company had bad news to report

Other people were saying bad things about the company

The media is anti-business so stories about major companies

are mostly negative

Don't know / No opinion

27

Social Media has Limited Impact on Public Opinion of Major Companies

Younger Americans are much more likely than older adults to form their opinions of major companies based on social media

28

To what extent, if any, have the following helped shape your opinions of major companies? Social media such as Facebook or Twitter

14%

22%

20%

12%

10%

4%

31%

39%

35%

28%

28%

21%

25%

18%

24%

30%

30%

26%

20%

9%

11%

21%

27%

37%

10%

12%

10%

10%

5%

11%

Adults

Age: 18-29

Age: 30-44

Age: 45-54

Age: 55-64

Age: 65+

A lot of influence Some influence Not much influence No influence at all Don't know / No opinion