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Near Record Low: 1 in 5 Americans Trust the Government

74 percent say elected officials put their own interests ahead of the country

AP
November 30, 2015

Only one in five Americans—19 percent—say they trust the government always or most of the time, which is among the lowest levels recorded in the last 50 years, according to a report from Pew Research Center.

Additionally, 55 percent think that ordinary Americans could solve national problems better than elected officials and 74 percent say that politicians put their own interests ahead of the country.

"Negative views of elected officials are hardly a new phenomenon—for years, large majorities have faulted elected officials for losing touch with Americans and not caring about the views of average people."

Large shares of both Democrats, 72 percent, and Republicans, 89 percent, say they can seldom trust the government.

"At a general level, the public finds the government frustrating and badly managed," states Pew. "Just 20 percent say the federal government runs its programs well, and 59 percent say it is in need of ‘very major reform,’ up 22 percentage points since 1997."

A majority of Republicans, 75 percent, say that the government needs major reform, while 44 percent of Democrats say the same.

"Republicans are also far more likely than Democrats to say that the government is wasteful and inefficient (75 percent vs. 40 percent of Democrats) and to give the government a ‘poor’ rating for how it operates its programs (50 percent vs. 18 percent)."