80% Of Americans Don’t Trust The Government

According to a new Pew Research Center report, trust in government is even lower than Joe Biden’s approval rating at a dismal 20%. 

An astonishing number, to be sure. To put it into concrete terms: if you approached 10 random Americans, just two of them would tell you they trust the government. 

Obviously, that kind of situation is more or less a petri dish for all kinds of problems. 

But it’s also not straightforward – Pew’s report also show a huge number of Americans don’t believe the government does enough.

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Where To Start?

Let’s take a trip down memory lane back to 1964, when Pew points out that 77% of Americans trusted the government.

Granted, America was less innocent than it had been just a few years earlier. We had just experienced the assassination of a hugely popular president. We thought that only happened in far away banana republics. Then it happened here.

But there may be other issues at play.

In 1964, there were three television networks and a handful of influential newspapers. It was easy to make Americans think only good things about their government and the people running it. There were only a relative handful of people you could even hear from about what was happening in our country and the world.

Not anymore.

With the advent of the Internet and loads of other media alternatives either giving different viewpoints or reporting what the big three left out altogether, Americans have discovered over the years that their government is not all sugar and spice.

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A Few Study Numbers

However, the Pew report also highlights some conflicting results.

According to the report, “Americans’ unhappiness with government has long coexisted with their continued support for government having a substantial role in many realms.

There is a significant portion of Americans who say that government doesn’t do enough, as opposed to trying to do too much.

The Pew study found that, not surprisingly, Republicans are not as big of fans of government as Democrats. The question to respondents of the survey, “should government play a major role” in 12 different areas.

Of those 12, “helping people out of poverty” was last at 52%. Maybe even some Democrats are thinking that some people should just get a job. The highest area for government involvement for respondents, “preventing terrorism” stands at 90%. Can we assume that translates into Americans wanting the southern border closed? 

There were differences along racial and ethnic lines as well. Black, Hispanic, and Asian respondents said, “government should do more to solve problems,” while whites said, “the government is doing too many things better left to businesses and individuals.” 

But here is where things got interesting. Americans’ views of politicians is well, rather “swampy.” Two-thirds of those surveyed, in both parties, said they believed that people run for office “do so to serve their own personal interests.”

Could that be because they see the people they send to Washington are not well-to-do when they leave, but are very well off when they return? Maxine Waters lives in a $6 million mansion. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, that obedient socialist, drives a Tesla.

How does one accomplish such a feat of fiscal responsibility on a $174,000 a year salary? Too bad they are not that “responsible” with our money.

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What Is Government Doing Exactly?

Teresa W. Gerton is president and CEO of the National Academy of Public Administration, a nonpartisan think tank. She made an interesting and valid statement, “Trust in government is higher not only when government works better, but also when people have a better understanding of what government is doing.”

Good question Teresa, exactly what the hell is the government doing? American would love to know, but more often than not we don’t know. 

Former President Donald Trump campaigned on “draining the swamp.” Most Americans knew exactly what he meant: ridding Washington D.C. of career, do-nothing fat-cat politicians whose only worry was getting reelected.

Here’s a thought, maybe they should! Trump may not have drained that swamp completely, but he made it shallow enough that we could all see what was floating beneath the surface.

The mother of all double standards when it comes to not prosecuting people like Hillary Clinton or Hunter Biden, yet people like Steve Bannon or Peter Navarro get indicted with seemingly no trouble at all.

And everyone’s current favorite, the House Select Committee on Jan. 6. This collection of swamp things has a predetermined outcome at the ready, all they needed was mainstream media networks to offer them up a little air time because, as Committee Chair Bennie Thompson said, “The public needs to know what to think.”

Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, which studies federal and government employees (what?), said, “Leaders in government have a responsibility to demonstrate that they’re there on behalf of and serving the public.”

Word to the wise…don’t hold your breath.