Messaging Guide

Government regulation

Begin in agreement, for example: We need consumer and employment rules that are fair to everyone.
Use values, for example: Justice, equal justice, civil justice, equal opportunity, fairness, fair rules, fair markets, level playing field, security, safety, protection.
Show how they benefit, for example: When we have fair rules that are equally enforced in the marketplace, it provides safety and justice for you and your family.

Persuadable Americans are cynical about government in the abstract. It is easy to bash government and bureaucracy. And yet, people favor the benefits of regulation. They strongly favor enforcing the rules, creating a level playing field, and ensuring that everyone plays by the same fair rules. They like the idea that government agencies act as referees or a watchdogs.

People know that wealthy individuals and huge corporations have corrupted the process. They aren’t playing fair and, as a result, small businesses and consumers are being cheated. In short, they want to enforce rules that restrain Wall Street without harming Main Street. In fact, Americans overwhelmingly agree with the following:

Say… The economic system is too often rigged to favor the wealthy and powerful over ordinary Americans, or big corporations over small businesses. That’s an argument for fairer rules and better enforcement. Whether prohibiting big banks from charging hidden fees, stopping polluters, keeping highways safe, or preventing the wealthiest one percent from hiding billions of tax dollars in offshore tax havens—we need fairer and stronger enforcement of our laws and regulations to ensure that everyone plays by the same rules.