Positive Rating of SEC Plunges 42 Points

ROCHESTER, N.Y.-(Business Wire)-February 10, 2009 - In 2007, The Harris Poll® found that fully 71% of the public who understood what the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) did rated the job it was doing positively (i.e., excellent or pretty good). A new Harris Poll finds that only 29% of all adults now give the SEC positive ratings, a huge drop of 42 points. Almost three-quarters (71%) give the SEC negative ratings.

This is one of the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 2,848 U.S. adults surveyed online by Harris Interactive^® between January 12 and 19, 2009, in a survey that asked the public to rate 15 of the most visible federal government agencies. The poll used the same questions used in six polls over the last nine years. This year we added two new government agencies, the U.S. Mint and the Surgeon General.

The 42-point fall in the SEC’s positive ratings is by a wide margin the biggest change in an agency’s ratings since these questions were first asked in 2000. Most people may not understand many of the things Wall Street does, from derivatives and hedge funds to the securitization of sub-prime mortgages and credit default swaps. But they clearly believe that the SEC, the agency that is supposed to regulate Wall Street, fell down on the job.

Printing money is popular. The U.S. Mint, one of the two agencies that are included in these questions for the first time, comes in at the top of this year’s ratings, with fully 80% of those who understand what it does, giving it a positive rating. The next most highly regarded agencies are the Centers for Disease Control or CDC, with 76% positive rating, the FBI (75%), the Federal Aviation Administration or FAA (71%), the Surgeon General (68%), and the National Institutes of Health or NIH (65%).

The agencies with the lowest positive ratings, other than the SEC (29%), are the Environmental Protection Agency or EPA (44%), the Social Security Administration (44%), the IRS (49%), the FDA (54%) and the Transportation Security Administration or TSA (55%).

Other Agencies also Have Lower Ratings this Year

The biggest changes since the most recent (2007) Harris Poll are all in one direction, downwards.

The SEC down 42 points from 71% to 29%
The USDA down 12 points from 73% to 61%
The NIH down 10 points from 75% to 65%
The CDC down 8 points from 84% to 76%
The TSA down 8 points from 63% to 55%
The FDA down 8 points from 62% to 54%.

So What?

The cataclysmic crash of the SEC’s ratings is, of course, a direct consequence of the failure of the regulators to detect, predict or prevent the financial crisis now rocking the world. However, it is worth noting that the most of the 13 agencies rated this year and in 2007 have seen their ratings fall and only four saw their ratings improve (and these improvements were very small). This systemic decline probably reflects a perception that government agencies are somewhat less trusted to fulfill their mandates now than they were when the economy was still growing.

Methodology

This Harris Poll^® was conducted online within the United States between January 12 and 19, 2009 among 2,848 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online. Full data tables and methodology are available at www.harrisinteractive.com

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

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About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is a global leader in custom market research. With a long and rich history in multimodal research, powered by our science and technology, we assist clients in achieving business results. Harris Interactive serves clients globally through our North American, European and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com

Harris Interactive Inc. 2/09

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