Heartland/Rasmussen Poll: Most Voters Oppose the Great Reset and ESG Scores

Published May 16, 2022

Only 32% of voters have a favorable view of the Great Reset movement

45% of voters favor a law that would protect American companies from having to comply with a European ESG scoring system; Only 29% oppose

41% of voters favor law that would stop publicly traded banks, financial institutions and investment managers from generating ESG scores for individuals and businesses who have not explicitly asked to be rated; Only 32% oppose

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL (May 16, 2022) – Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Economic Forum and several other globalist institutions have been calling for a “Great Rest” of shareholder capitalism and the implementation of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores to push their “stakeholder capitalism” agenda.

A new poll by The Heartland Institute and Rasmussen Reports indicates that most likely voters oppose both the Great Reset and the implementation of ESG scores for businesses and individuals in the United States. Among Republican voters, a whopping 67% “strongly oppose” the Great Reset. Similarly, a solid majority of Independents (57%) “strongly oppose” the World Economic Forum’s Great Reset movement. On the flip side, 34% of Democrats “strongly favor” the Great Reset. Interestingly, Republican and Independent voters tend to be more “familiar” with the Great Reset movement compared to their Democratic counterparts.

ESG Awareness

As of now, only a small fraction of likely voters are “very familiar” with ESG scores, a key component of the Great Reset movement. As can be expected, those with higher incomes, especially likely voters with incomes exceeding $200,000 per year, are more familiar with ESG scores than those on the lower end of the income spectrum. It is also true that young Americans are more familiar with ESG scores than older Americans, as are those who self-identify as “conservative.”

ESG Favorability

Among all likely voters, a solid plurality opposes the implementation of ESG scores in general. However, when the question is narrowed to those who are “very familiar” with ESG scores, the percentage of likely voters who oppose ESG scores is considerably higher. For instance, 21% of all likely voters “strongly favor” and 17% “somewhat favor” a law that would “stop publicly traded investment managers from using ESG scores to influence other corporations.” But, among likely voters who are “somewhat and/or very familiar” with ESG scores, these figures increase to 32% and 22%, respectively. As the crosstabs data show in great detail, this trend of the more voters know about ESG scores, the more likely they are to oppose ESG scores, is consistent across the poll.

See the poll questions and the crosstabs here.

The Heartland Institute is a national nonprofit organization founded in 1984 and headquartered in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems.

If you’d like to interview a Heartland Institute expert on this topic or other topics, please contact Justin Haskins, the director of Heartland’s Socialism Research Center and primary author of the Heartland/Rasmussen survey, at [email protected], or contact Vice President and Director of Communications Jim Lakely at [email protected].

National Survey of 1,004 Likely Voters on the Great Reset and ESG Scores

Conducted April 28 – May 2, 2022
By The Heartland Institute and Rasmussen Reports

 

Are you familiar with the Great Reset movement, a global economic strategy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that seeks to change the priorities of capitalism? 

40% yes

38% no

22% not sure

 

Asked of 402 people who are familiar with the Great Reset:

Do you strongly favor, somewhat favor, somewhat oppose or strongly oppose the Great Reset movement?

16% strongly favor

16% somewhat favor

12% somewhat oppose

49% strongly oppose

7% not sure

 

Asked of all:

Environmental, social, and governance scores – commonly called ESG – are a kind of social credit scoring system used by financial institutions, investors, and some governments.  How familiar are you with ESG scores?

16% very familiar

28% somewhat familiar

34% not very familiar

18% not at all familiar

4% not sure

 

Many publicly traded investment managers like BlackRock and Vanguard use these non-financial ESG scores to influence corporations to change their policies, products, and business practices.  Do you support or oppose this practice?

11% strongly support

18% somewhat support

16% somewhat oppose

27% strongly oppose

27% you are not sure

 

Would you strongly favor, somewhat favor, somewhat oppose or strongly oppose a law that would stop publicly traded investment managers from using ESG scores to influence other corporations?

21% strongly favor

17% somewhat favor

16% somewhat oppose

15% strongly oppose

31% not sure

 

Would you strongly favor, somewhat favor, somewhat oppose or strongly oppose a law that would stop financial institutions like banks from using ESG scores when evaluating individuals and businesses applying for financial services like loans?

22% strongly favor

19% somewhat favor

14% somewhat oppose

16% strongly oppose

29% not sure

 

Some investment management services and banks have started to apply ESG scores to individual banking and investment accounts.  Would you strongly favor, somewhat favor, somewhat oppose or strongly oppose a law that would stop publicly traded banks, financial institutions and investment managers from generating ESG scores for individuals and businesses who have not explicitly asked to be rated?

25% strongly favor

16% somewhat favor

15% somewhat oppose

17% strongly oppose

28% not sure

 

A public pension is a taxpayer-funded retirement system for people who used to work for a government agency, such as the Postal Service or fire department.  Some public pension managers use taxpayer-funded public pensions to advance ESG goals.  Would you strongly favor, somewhat favor, somewhat oppose or strongly oppose a law that would stop taxpayer-funded public pensions from using ESG scores when evaluation potential investment opportunities.

27% strongly favor

15% somewhat favor

14% somewhat oppose

18% strongly oppose

26% not sure

 

The European Union is considering legislation that would make ESG scores mandatory for many companies that operate in Europe or do business with European companies, including American businesses.  Would you strongly favor, somewhat favor, somewhat oppose or strongly oppose legislation that would protect American companies from being required to comply with a European ESG scoring system?

28% strongly favor

17% somewhat favor

14% somewhat oppose

15% strongly oppose

26% not sure

 

NOTE: Margin of Sampling Error, +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence

 

###