This is a class blog for the students of POLSCI 426: Congressional Politics at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.
Nobody trusts the government
Is there anything new? While there may be a small jump in the number of people who don't trust the government, it seems to me that there is hardly ever a time when people trust them!
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5 comments:
I thought it was strange that there were about 56% that said the government didn't do enough to help average citizens yet support for the current size of the government was split 50/50. What do people think makes it possible for all the programs to function? A smaller government is only going to make the job of helping people more difficult. Also, not sure where I read it, but there was an article showing the relationship between government approval ratings and the health of the economy. As it improved approval ratings went up and vice versa. James Carvile obviously had something when he popularized the phrase, "It's the economy, stupid."
I think that the reason people don't trust government is because people see the help as not really helping much. I think the most recent examples include the Wall street crisis. A large number of investment firms who invested in the derivative market with mortgages lost a significant amount by betting on the wrong side. The banks gave loans to people who couldn't afford them and the loans defaulted and any firm who bet the mortgages would go up in the derivative market lost massive amounts to the point that the government bailed them out. The lawsuit against Goldman Sachs, and restrictions and possible future restrictions on lending will not help. businesses need access to bank loans or they will not survive.
The other instance is the most insane over reaction to a problem I have ever seen. I am not a contractor but i think the lengths people have to go to remove lead is insane. The costs will prohibit the poor in the ghetto from really ever being able to get help rebuilding their homes. I thought this issue was supposed to help the inner-city lead problem because kids were eating paint chips. I think some people see these attempts to "help" by the government and begin to not trust them.
The report states that these trends started in 2000 and have dropped drastically since. Have we given enough attention to the last 8 years or governance, especially the years post 9/11 when the Bush administration increased the size and role of government to its largest size in decades contrary to the base of his party and conservatives who voted for him twice. Why all of a sudden is the distrust in government such a prominent issue? Distrust in government will always be high, especially with the polarized Congress we have now. We should also keep in mind that a large majority of the American people know nothing of how our government is run and what politicians need to do in order to accomplish anything at a national level.
I think it's as simple as the fact that nobody ever really trusts the government. Periodically, someone takes note and brings attention to it.
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