American Pulse™: Three-Fourths of Americans
             Say Government Spending Too Much Money

Truth Commission? Don’t Bother. Soda Tax? Most Opposed.

COLUMBUS, OH – (MARKET WIRE) – 5/22/09 – An overwhelming majority (75.1%) of Americans say the U.S. Government is spending too much money, according to the May American Pulse™ (N=4031). Additionally, a majority within each political party feels the same: Democrats (64.1%), Republicans (90.5%) and Independents (79.2%).

This month, Americans weighed in on the CIA and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. 62.1% don’t think the truth commission endorsed by Pelosi is necessary. 37.9% think there should be an independent truth commission. Support is split along party lines with 60.3% of Democrats, 15.5% of Republicans and 32.5% of Independents favoring the truth commission.

Concerning healthcare, Americans are split as to whether it should be universal. 49.6% are for, while 29.8% are against. The rest aren’t sure. If healthcare was extended to all eligible U.S. citizens, 40.7% say the current quality would decrease for the worse, 29.8% say quality will be better and 29.4% think it would stay the same.

With the prospect of universal healthcare, comes the prospect of over a $1 trillion price tag. As Senate leaders debate a possible soda tax to help pay the bill, Americans have voted and their decision is split. 37.3% favor, 44.4% oppose and 18.4% don’t know.

On a side note, regardless of the threat of swine flu and influenza, 47.5% don’t plan on getting a flu shot this year.

To voice your opinion on BIGresearch and Artafact’s Blog: http://peoplevoice.ning.com/

For complimentary findings: http://americanpulse.bigresearch.com.

About American Pulse™
The American Pulse™ Survey is collected online by BIGresearch every month exclusively utilizing Survey Sampling International’s (SSI) U.S. panel covering topics such as politics, pop culture and the economy. Over 4,000 respondents participate, providing greater insights into how Americans really feel about issues they currently face. The use of the online blog as a listening post to develop the questions posed in the monthly American Pulse survey is a very effective use of both online qualitative and quantitative research.  http://www.bigresearch.com

About Artafact
For researchers who need a quick and easy solution for conducting online focus groups, Artafact is a virtual focus group facility that replicates a traditional focus group in a collaborative online environment.  Artafact bulletin boards support consumer generated content, allowing respondents to create and manage discussion threads.  More information is available at www.artafact.com.

About Survey Sampling International (SSI)
Survey Sampling International is the premier global provider of sampling solutions for survey research. SSI offers access to more than 6 million consumer and business-to-business research respondents in 54 countries via Internet, telephone, and mobile. Additional client services include custom profiling, survey programming and hosting, data processing, sampling consulting, and survey optimization. SSI serves more than 1,800 marketing research clients, including nearly three-quarters of the top researchers worldwide. Founded in 1977, SSI has an international staff of 400 people representing 50 countries and 36 languages. The company is based in Shelton, CT with 14 additional offices worldwide. http://www.surveysampling.com

Contacts:
BIGresearch                                                     SSI
Chrissy Wissinger                                              Diane Urso
chrissy@bigresearch.com                                  diane_urso@SurveySampling.com
614.846.0146                                                     203.567.7236