We Are Skeptical
That’s the takeaway from a new poll from The Partnership for Public Service, as reported yesterday by POLITICO. The topline findings of the new poll should be taken as a warning sign for both major political parties, in both the White House and Congress.
“Many Americans remain deeply skeptical about a core institution of our democracy: the federal government.” They came to that conclusion after their new poll showed that just 42% of respondents say the U.S. government has a positive impact on our lives. And a majority—53%–say the government has a negative impact. Both numbers are roughly the same as a year ago.
When asked if the government listens to the public, only 22% of this year’s respondents agreed…that’s down from 27% last year.
Yet when asked about their own personal contact with the federal government, Americans say they are mostly satisfied—and that includes 74% of those filing taxes, 77% of those voting in a federal election (which are actually run by states), and 88% of those applying for a passport.
For generations, polls have shown that people hate Congress as a whole, but strongly support their individual representative…so some of this negative feeling could be hype…but it’s still of concern, especially the smaller number saying government listens to the people it’s supposed to serve.
The poll has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3.5 points.
In short, it’s nothing new…but our skepticism of a foundation of our republic is a cause for concern. Wonder if any of those working in the federal system will take note and do anything to change that.
