Do You Trust Your Government?

Pew Research Center, March 9, 2013

For the past seven years, a period covering the final two years of the Bush administration and President Obama’s first term, no more than about three-in-ten Americans have said they trust the federal government to do the right thing always or most of the time.

Our Jan. 2013 survey found only 26% saying they can trust government always or most of the time, while 73% say they can trust the government only some of the time or never. Majorities across all partisan and demographic groups express little or no trust in government. However, there are disparities: more than twice as many Hispanics as whites 44% vs. 20%) trust the federal government, and more blacks (38%) than whites trust the government. People younger than 30 have more trust in government than do older people. And far more Democrats (38%) than independents (21%) or Republicans (15%) say they can trust the government at least most of the time.

A majority of Americans also say the federal government is a threat to their rights.

In the January 2013 survey,  76% of conservative Republicans regard the government as a threat to their personal rights and freedoms and 54% consider the government to be a “major” threat, an increase over three years ago when 62% of them described it as a threat to their freedom and 47% said it was a “major” threat. By comparison, there is little change in opinion among Democrats; 38% say the government poses a threat to their personal freedoms and 16% view it as “major.”

Fewer Americans have a favorable view of the federal government, with the biggest decline last year coming among Democrats.

Since Barack Obama’s first year in office, public assessments of the federal government dropped nine points, according to our April 2012 survey. Most of the change was among Democrats and independents, as the level of favorable views of government among Republicans was already low.

The more negative view of the federal government has produced a growing gap between how Americans see Washington as compared to their state and local governments.

Ten years ago, roughly two-thirds of Americans offered favorable assessments of all three levels of government: federal, state and local. But in a survey conducted in April 2012, those having a favorable view of the federal government numbered just 33% compared to 61% who regarded their local government favorably, and 52% who had a positive opinion of their state government.

In the 2012 Values survey, 69% of Americans said the federal government should only run things that cannot be done at the local level.

Government Role

While many Americans may oppose a range of cuts in specific government programs, the public overall favors smaller government providing fewer services than a bigger government providing more services.

Currently, Americans say by a 56 to 35% margin that they prefer a smaller government providing fewer services than a bigger one, according to our Sept. 2012 survey. These opinions have changed little over the course of Barack Obama’s presidency, although the margin did narrow in 2008. There was a substantial partisan divide on this question: 87% of Republicans favored the smaller government option compared to 28% of Democrats. Conversely, Democrats preferred bigger government over a smaller one by a 60% to 11% margin over Republicans. Independents favored a smaller government over a bigger one by 65% to 27%.  

The trend in public opinion favoring a smaller role for government is reflected in declining support for the social safety net.

While a majority of Americans has consistently agreed it is the responsibility of government to take care of people who can’t take care of themselves, this has slipped to 59% from 63% in 2009 and 69% in 2007, according to our Values Study conducted in April 2012.

Since 2007, Republican support for the safety net has declined significantly even as Democrats continue to support government aid to the poor and needy as they have over the last 25 years. As a result, the current party gap is now larger than ever.

Government regulation of business has become one of the nation’s most politically divisive issues.

In nearly every political values survey since 1987, majorities have agreed that “government regulation of business usually does more harm than good.” Partisan differences on this measure were far greater in 2012 than they were in 2007, the final year of George Bush’s presidency. About three-quarters (76%) of Republicans said that government regulation of business did more harm than good, among the highest ever. Just 41% of Democrats agreed, one of their lowest percentages ever.

Branches of Government

Americans have a highly negative view of Congress.

Opinions about Congress remain very negative, according to our Jan. 2013 survey:  just 23% offer a favorable opinion while 68% express and unfavorable view.In 2009, 50% of the public regarded Congress favorably and, between 1985 and 2005, Congress was viewed more favorably than unfavorably.  Virtually identical majorities of Republicans (58%), Democrats (57%) and independents (56%) put the blame on members of Congress, not the political system.

Unfavorable views of the Supreme Court are at their highest level in years.

Unfavorable opinions of the Supreme Court rose to their highest level in 25 years in July 2012 following its ruling that upheld most of the 2010 health care law. A survey conducted Dec 2012 found that little changed: 53% had a favorable view of the court while 36% had an unfavorable one. There are wide partisan differences in views of the court that emerged in the wake of the health care ruling: 62% of Democrats have a favorable view of the court compared to 44% of Republicans. Before the health care ruling, 56% of Republicans had viewed the court favorably in a survey conducted in April 2012.