Americans’ Dissatisfaction with Government, Congress and Other Institutions

Present as well as past research has found that there is no singular factor that drives Americans to distrust their government. There is however a combination of factors that are currently present that have been the major cause of the dissatisfaction expressed by the general public. There is considerable evidence to show that dissatisfaction is closely linked to how people feel about the state of the nation as a whole. People are currently unhappy with the way things are in the country which has made distrust to soar to an all-time high. The recent decline in public trust can be traced back to 2008 when the financial crisis made many people disillusioned. According to the Pew Research Center, 11% of the public said that they were satisfied with the government in October, 2008. This was the lowest figure in over two decades. At the same time, a survey conducted by CBS/New York Times found that only 17% of the population had faith in the government in Washington DC (Farber 3). This was also a low that had not been experienced since 1994.

One of the reasons for distrust in government is politics, particularly presidential. There is a trend that shows that trust in government is always high among members of the party that has the sitting president. It is however worth noting that Republicans have the reputation for the most dramatic changes depending on the party in the white house than do Democrats. This means that Republicans tend to render overwhelming support for a Republican government than Democrats do for a Democratic government. This pattern has particularly played out in the Obama era. The president’s efforts to overhaul the healthcare system have been the impetus that Republicans have clamored for in order to express their disapproval. Currently, only 13% of Republicans admit that they can trust the government which is close to the 11% that trusted the Clinton administration in 1994 (Farber 3).

Another evident factor for the dissatisfaction with government has been limited to a group of independents who are chronically distrustful of the government, claiming to be financially pressed. This group typically leans towards the Republicans and seems to be angrier today than they have ever been before. Previous research conducted by Pew has labeled this group as “disaffecteds”.  This explicitly explains why there is nearly the same number of Republican-leaning independents as there are conservative Republicans dissatisfied with the current government (37% against 32%) (Farber 4). This group of Republican-leaning independents has the same number of members (53%) as the conservative Republicans who openly support the Tea Party movement.

There has been a record discontent with Congress. This coupled with dim views of elected officials has served to poison the trust enjoyed by the federal government. This is one of the major reasons why groups affiliated to the government and who are naturally expected to side with it – like Democrats – have expressed discontent. There are much fewer Democrats who support the current administration than those that supported it during the latter years of the Clinton administration. Just about 40% of Democrats currently express a positive impression of the current Democratic Congress. This is the lowest ever rating given to a Congress that has a majority of the ruling party (Farber 4). The public views individual members of the institution as the problem rather than a broken down political institution. 52% of those surveyed supported the political system pointing to members of the Congress as forming the bulk of the problem compared to 38% who feel that the system is broken, in turn corrupting the officials.

There is a general decline in the favorable ratings of elected officials across the board. Democratic Party ratings have fallen 21 points from 59% to 38% marking the lowest point of the current administration according to Pew Research surveys (Farber 6). Republican Party’s ratings, which had improved from 40% in August, last year to 46% in February have also fallen to 37%. This shows a general decline in favorable ratings across all the parties.  There are a number of reasons that the public has given for these reduced ratings including: profligate and out-of-touch elected officials, selfishness that has driven officials to desire advancement of their own careers, their unwillingness to compromise and influence by special interest groups. About 76% of those surveyed agreed with these reasons. While 56% of those surveyed said that they would wish to see their children pursue careers in the government, only 36% said that they would want their children to pursue a political career (Farber 6).

Discontent is not limited to the government and Congress. In fact, Americans are just about as discontented with all major institutions as they are with the government. Only 25% and 24% of those surveyed said that the government and Congress, respectively, had a positive effect on other spheres of the country. Large corporations, banks and other financial institutions also seem to be considered as having little effect on the positive outlook of the country at 25% and 22% respectively (Farber 5). Other institutions seem to also bear the wrath of those surveyed as they only recorded slightly higher figures in terms of creating a positive outlook. The national media had 31%, the labor unions had 32% and the entertainment industry had 33%. There seems to be a high correlation between dissatisfaction with the federal government and all other institutions, whether they affiliated or not.

The federal government seems to be the genesis of mass dissatisfaction. Many people cite poor performance as their main point of concern. About 74% of those surveyed, same as the 90s, say that the government does a fair to poor job in running its programs. They assert that government priorities are misguided and that they do very little that is geared towards assisting the average American. More than 62% of Americans feel that government policies benefit only a few interest groups while 56% feel that there are no significant benefits that are meted on average Americans. Sixteen years ago, about 54% of Americans felt that the federal government did very little for the middle class. These sentiments have gathered popularity and are now expressed by over 66% of the populace (Farber 8). These numbers are not confined to any single party affiliates. In fact, 68% of Republicans, 67% of Democrats and 65% of independents felt that the middle class was being isolated. In the same light, about half of each party affiliates; 52% of both Republicans and Democrats and 47% of independents felt that the federal government gives undue attention to Wall Street than other sectors of the economy.

The power and size of the federal government are matters that elicit sharp reactions from Americans. 52% of the citizens feel that the government is too powerful and bloated and a further 58% felt that it interfered too much with local and state matters (Farber 9). However, asked on the course of action that should be taken for this to be remedied, half of Americans feel that the government should retain its programs while 47% feel that it should cut back on the power that it wields. This is a sharp decline from previous statistics that showed a significant support of government programs. Naturally, Republicans feel that the government is too powerful and some powers should be scaled down. The size of the desired government has been a major point of discussion especially after Obama became president. About half of the Americans surveyed feel that they should have a leaner government providing fewer services whereas 40% say that they would prefer a bigger government providing more services.

Distrust in other institutions seems to whittle down whenever the government is involved. For example, over 58% of Americans distrust large corporations because they feel that the government has overstepped its mandate in overregulation. They feel that interference in the free enterprise system has led to the failure of other institutions. Therefore, many people feel that the government should exercise less control over the economy than it has in the previous years. About a year ago majority of the people advocated for more government control in the economy but that perspective seems to have been reversed. The skeptics cite that more government involvement will lead to stricter regulation that will in turn hurt the economy. However, the opposite seems to hold true for major financial companies as citizens feel that these institutions need to be controlled since they seemed culpable in the 2008 financial crisis that threatened to cripple the country’s economy.

Majority of the problems that face both the federal government and Congress are due to a lack of bipartisanship. There is more polarization and partisan politics in government and Congress today than there has ever been in the last 50 years (Nivola & Brady 32). There is little to no consensus on majority of the issues that affect policies. This is because there is a near stalemate that makes it difficult for the majority to have their way. The major problem is that parties are demanding strict loyalty from their members thus making reforms difficult. The functions of Congress including lawmaking, oversight, representing people and encouraging deliberation seem to be on the verge of being undone but constant politicking. For the government and Congress to regain the trust of the people, there are a number of key things that must be done.

First, all stakeholders in public service must work towards reducing polarization. In Congress, for example, the number of moderates can be increased by ensuring that non-partisan commissions redistrict it. Second, there should be improved lawmaking through normal legislative procedures geared towards true reform. This can be only achieved through limiting rules that are restrictive and by working towards protecting the minority. Members of both Congress and Senate must spend more time in Washington, doing their jobs, rather than the continued Tuesday to Thursday Club (TUTH) (Oleszek 6). This will ensure that there is more time paid to electorates so that their needs are anticipated and met. There are numerous committee, lawmaking, education and oversight roles that these people should play on a regular basis to craft solutions to the myriad of problems that bedevil Americans. There have been numerous attempts made to tame the TUTH club but to no avail. Instead of just spending floor time on the house, representatives should ensure that they do some real work that would benefit Americans in general. More transparency is needed in making decisions. The number of committees and subcommittees should be reduced while jurisdictions should be realigned to reduce committee assignments. This will also tame policy fragmentation that has been at the fore in enabling interest groups to interfere.

Improving the oversight role of Congress will go a long way in ensuring that the government is accountable. This will enable it to challenge presidential decisions in expanding power by signing war powers, use of secrecy and signing statements to cover the actions of the executive branch (Straus 46). This and improved deliberation will improve the way that bills are passed; as omnibus bills will be rejected and there will be restoration in the normal order of doing things where there will be a predetermined work schedule that will make the work of Congress and government more predictable thus building trust among the citizens.

Americans are angrier and more dissatisfied than they have been in a long time. Their feelings are justifiable as the legislative and executive arms of the government are too partisan and polarized to work in harmony to deliver the results that they desire. The road to earning back the trust of the citizens is not one that can be successfully taken by Congress or the president alone. There must be extensive consultations and compromises so that the country can move forward.

Works cited

Farber, Dan. Poll: 70 Percent Angry or Dissatisfied with Washington. CBSNEWS, 2010. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/poll-70-percent-angry-or-dissatisfied-with-washington/. 25 November 2013

Nivola, Pietro S. and Brady, David W. Consequences and Correction of America’s Polarized Politics, Volume Two. Brookings, 2008

Oleszek, Walter J. Proposals to Reform “Holds” in the Senate, Congressional Research Service, 2010

Straus, Jacob R. House Office of Congressional Ethics: History, Authority, and Procedures Congressional Research Service, Report R40760, 2009

 

 

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