Faith in Institutions; Americans find new hope in their government

American Demographics, Jan 1, 2002

The anti-government grumble, which resounded in America before Sept. 11, rings somewhat hollow in these patriotic days. Once distrustful and disparaging of their federal institutions - turned off by big government, complex electoral procedure, bloated bureaucracy and perceived corruption - these days, Americans are pledging allegiance not only to the flag, but to every governmental agency with a flagpole. In fact, Americans' trust in government has soared to its highest levels in 30 years, according to numerous polls.

In the 1950s, when pollsters began asking Americans about their attitudes toward government, trust and pride ranked among the highest worldwide. Watergate and the Vietnam War are largely credited with the waning of such sentiment in the early 1970s, a trend that continued and was intensified by Ronald Reagan's anti-government rhetoric in the 1980s, and the Contract with America crowd in the mid-1990s. According to a New York Times/CBS News poll taken in 1998, 26 percent of Americans - barely 1 in 4 - trusted the government to do what's right "most of the time."

But times have changed. When New York Times/CBS News polled Americans in late September 2001, 55 percent said they trusted the government to do what's right "most of the time." A poll of 800 nonfederal workers, conducted by Washington, D.C.-based Hart-Teeter between Oct. 12 and 14, 2001, found attitudes toward government much improved following Sept. 11. A solid majority - 68 percent - s aid they thought of the federal government as "our government," as opposed to "the government" (30 percent). This was a reversal of responses from Hart-Teeter's May 1999 poll, when more (55 percent) thought of it as "the government" than "our government" (42 percent).

Fear and Mistrust

American wariness of government was well established prior to Sept. 11, but it wasn't at an all-time low. The lowest levels recorded by the University of Michigan's biannual National Election Study were back in 1994, when Republicans took over Congress, promising to get rid of "big government." A majority of Americans - 3 in 4 - agreed at the time that Washington was only likely to do what's right none or some of the time. By 2000, that had fallen to 56 percent, and the percentage saying Washington does what's right most of the time or always doubled to 44 percent. Nonetheless, compared with the record high of 76 percent who believed government does what's right back in 1964, the figure has decreased considerably over the past 40 years. Trust in politicians, however, is dismally low. A July 2000 Harris Interactive poll found cynicism running high. Nearly half (49 percent) said that "quite a few" of those running government were "a little crooked."

DISTRUST OVER TRUST

At this time last year, only 1 in 5 Americans trusted the people running the White House.

As far as the people in charge of running [each of the following] are concerned, would you say you have a great deal/quite a lot of trust in them?

For Love of Government

Today, love of country seems to have expanded into love of government. According to the Gallup Organization, the post-Sept. 11 surge in faith in government is the highest seen since 1968, before civil unrest, social revolutions and various other events brought the level of trust to new lows. In 2000, 42 percent of Americans said they trusted the government to do what's right always or most of the time, according to Gallup. A poll conducted Oct. 5 to 6, 2001 shows 60 percent of Americans saying the same.

Gallup also shows the number of Americans saying the government should do more to solve our country's problems is at an all-time high (50 percent). In a survey taken between Sept. 7 and 10, only 36 percent of Americans agreed that the government should step up to the plate, while 55 percent said the government was already doing too much. The percentage of Americans agreeing that public officials don't "care much about what people like me think" fell from 59 percent in 1992, to 41 percent this past October.

RISING PRIDE

Almost 2 in 3 Americans now trust the government to do what's right at least most of the time.

Some people think the government is trying to do many things that should be left to individuals and businesses. Others think that government should do more to solve our country's problems. Which comes closer to your view?

I don't think public officials care much what people like me think.

Source: Gallup Organization

Bravo, Bureaucrats!

It seems highly unlikely that the IRS has done anything radically different this past year that might account for its tremendous 19-point boost in positive public opinion ratings. Yet according to a nationwide Harris Interactive poll of Sept. 19 to 24, the tax agency's public image has improved considerably since the poll was last taken in September 2000. The most likely explanation is runoff from the general rally around the flag phenomenon that has characterized Americans' attitude toward government since Sept. 11. Highest on the list of approved agencies are those dealing with health (nearly 8 in 10 Americans viewed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention positively in late September 2001), since they are responsible for investigating recent and future threats of anthrax, and biological warfare in general. Rating lowest are the CIA (57 percent view the agency positively) and the Federal Aviation Authority (54 percent) - both perhaps considered partly responsible for not better preparing the country for or preventing the events of Sept. 11.