Americans Are More
Skeptical of Washington Than Ever
A desire for smaller
government is especially evident since Barack Obama took office.
By ANDREW KOHUT
WSJ.com
By almost every conceivable measure, Americans are less positive and
more critical of their government these days. There is a perfect storm
of conditions associated with distrust of government—a dismal economy,
an unhappy public, and epic discontent with Congress and elected
officials.
These are among the principal findings from a new series of Pew Research
Center surveys. Rather than an activist government to deal with the
nation's top problems, these surveys show that the general public now
wants government reformed and a growing number want its power curtailed.
With the exception of greater regulation of Wall Street, there is less
of an appetite for government solutions to the nation's
problems—including greater government control over the economy—than
there was when Barack Obama first took office.
The public's hostility toward government seems likely to be an important
election issue favoring the Republicans this fall. But the Democrats can
take some solace in the fact that neither party can be confident it has
the advantage among such a disillusioned electorate. Favorable ratings
for both major parties, as well as for Congress, have reached record
lows. Opposition to congressional incumbents, already approaching an
all-time high, continues to climb.
The tea party movement, which has a small but fervent antigovernment
constituency, could be a wild card in this election. On the one hand,
its sympathizers are highly energized and inclined to vote Republican.
On the other, many Republicans (28%), and Independents who lean
Republican (30%), say the "tea party" represents their point of view
better than the GOP.
Over the course of the past decade we've seen a spike in intense
antigovernment attitudes amongst a small segment of the public. The
proportion saying they are angry with the federal government has doubled
since 2000, increasing to 21% from 10%. And a larger minority of the
public has come to view the federal government as a major threat to
their personal freedom: 30% feel this way, up from 18% in a 2003 ABC
News/Washington Post survey.
The Pew Research Center surveys provide a detailed picture of the
public's opinions about government and how it differs from the climate
of opinion in the late 1990s, when criticism of government had declined
from earlier in the decade. At that time, the public's desire for
government services and activism was holding steady.
This is not the case today. Just 22% say they can trust the government
in Washington almost always or most of the time, among the lowest
measures in half a century.
Opinions about elected officials are particularly poor. Just 25% have a
favorable opinion of Congress while 65% have an unfavorable view—the
lowest favorable ratings for Congress in more than two decades of Pew
Research center surveys.
Favorable ratings for federal agencies and institutions have fallen
since 1997-98 for seven of 13 federal agencies included in the survey.
The declines have been particularly large for the Department of
Education, the Food and Drug Administration, the Social Security
Administration, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.
As in the past, poor performance is the most persistent criticism of the
federal government. But increasingly Americans say that government has
the wrong priorities and that has a negative effect on their day-to-day
lives. Sixty-two percent say that government policies unfairly benefit
some groups, while nearly as many (56%) say that government does not do
enough to help average Americans.
There is also growing concern about the size and power of the federal
government. The public is now evenly divided over whether federal
government programs should be maintained to deal with important problems
or cut back greatly to reduce the power of government.
A desire for smaller government is particularly evident since Barack
Obama took office. In four surveys over the past year, about half have
consistently said they would rather have a smaller government with fewer
services, while about 40% have consistently preferred a bigger
government providing more services. In October 2008, shortly before the
presidential election, the public was evenly split on this question.
The public is now divided over whether it is a good idea for the
government to exert more control over the economy than it has in recent
years. Just 40% say this is a good idea, while a 51% majority says it is
not. Last March, by 54% to 37%, more people said it was a good idea for
the government to exert more control over the economy. The exception
here is the undiminished support for the government to more strictly
regulate the way major financial companies do business. This is favored
by a 61% to 31% margin.
Record discontent with Congress and dim views of elected officials
generally have poisoned the well for trust in the federal government.
Public opinion about elected officials in Washington is relentlessly
negative. Favorable ratings for the Democratic Party have fallen by 21
points—to 38% from 59%—over the past year and now stand at their lowest
point in Pew Research surveys. The Republican Party's ratings, which
increased to 46% in February from 40% last August, have fallen back to
37%.
Nonetheless, antigovernment sentiment appears to be a more significant
driver of possible turnout among Republicans and independents than among
Democrats. Perhaps most troubling for Democrats, independent voters who
are highly frustrated with government are also highly committed to
casting a ballot this year, and they favor the Republican candidates in
their districts by an overwhelming 66% to 13% margin.
Mr. Kohut is president
of Pew Research Center. He is a past president of the Gallup
Organization and the founder of Princeton Survey Research Associates