TRUST IN politicians in America is at an all-time low. Recent polling suggests that the president is less trusted than ABC or MSNBC—a poor performance, given that in 2016 only 21% of Americans suggested that they had confidence in television news. But the legislative branch may be the least trusted wing of government: only 9% of Americans reported confidence in Congress in 2016. Technology and globalisation are commonly cited culprits for this parlous of affairs. But there is a simpler explanation for much of the slide: a reasonable perception that politicians are not working in the best interests of voters.
The government’s trust problem certainly predates Donald Trump: trust has been falling for decades. Apart from a short-lived spike in support after the terror attacks on New York in September, 2001, the last time a majority of Americans suggested that the government in Washington, DC could be trusted to do what is right was in 1972, according to the Pew Research Centre. By 2015, less than one in five Americans held that view. And the trust problem spreads beyond government: survey evidence suggests that answers to the question “do you think most people can be trusted?” are also at a...Continue reading
Source: United States http://ift.tt/2q1Qte8
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