DO AMERICANS TRUST THEIR GOVERNMENT?

Submitted by:
Deidre R. Bradley
Masters Degree Candidate

Fort Hays State University

May 2015

Abstract
This research study seeks to understand the reasons why the American people are losing
their trust in the government. The present study conducted a survey with a random sampling of
people from each of the main political party affiliations, who shared their opinions and
perspectives regarding the reasons why they do not trust the government.

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
Purpose of the Study
The intent of this study is to understand why Americans are losing their trust in the
government. Researchers and pollsters have been trending this decline of trust in the
government for well over 50 years.
Research suggests that the distrust is in the eye of the beholder in that trust depends on
political party affiliation as to how the question of do you trust the government is answered.
Other research declares that the reasons behind the distrust are due to scandals involving
any number of governmental agencies. The age of the participants is also a consideration into
how different demographic groups views government.
Amid the various research studies, another issue has come to the surface regarding the
framing of the survey answers. A study conducted in 2006 by Gershtenson and Plane reviewed
the American National Election Studies and discovered that the questions were not always
consistently used. Additionally, the answers left much to be desired to the point that one could
not truly pinpoint the trust factor.
This researcher sought to find the factors that have perpetuated this mistrust by looking at
the relationship between scandals amongst governmental agencies as well as the economy and
jobs forecast for the country.
Hypothesis
Americans lose trust in government when agencies representative of the government fail
or are involved in scandals as well as when the economy and jobs have a dismal outlook. The
independent variables are the political party affiliation; perceptions of the economy and the

knowledge of scandals in Washington. The dependent variable is the trust of the American
people.

CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW

According to poll numbers as noted by www.theblaze.com, there is a connection between

trust in the government and the reputations of agencies that at one time were still trusted. This
article examines the shift in trust of the American government related to steadfast agencies and
institutions. Looking at agencies such as the Secret Service, the Centers for Disease Control
(CDC) and the Veterans Administration to name just a few, there was a time when these
bedrocks were regarded with a good reputation. Now that these institutions are crumbling before
our eyes, the tide is turning. Collectively, the government is about doing for its citizens what
they cannot do alone. However, its very effectiveness is based on trust. (The Blaze)
In 2013, when Washington shut down, trust in government was very low, the CDC had a
75 percent approval rating, which was the highest of federal agencies. Another poll surveyed
Americans just a year later, only 37 percent said the agency was doing a good job. (The Blaze)
To be fair, however, the CDC has not always had an untarnished reputation. They were
highly criticized for failing to find the reason that more than two dozen people died at the
American Legion convention in 1976. Approximately, 200 people fell ill in Philadelphia that
year. Today, we know this disease as Legionnaires. The CDC did not go without blemish
during that time frame.

Gershtenson and Plane examine the answers provided through the American National
Election Studies. In their pilot report reviewing the questions of 2006, they presented that the
trust question is problematic as it is rudimentary in its measurement.
They ascertain that trust is helpful and, perhaps essential, for a democratic government.
Their position is that in the absence of trust, citizens have a harder and more chaotic life with
less stability and high angst. If you have trust then you have a greater chance of people
complying with laws. To sum it up, they believe that it takes trust to make democracy work.
(Gershtenson, Plane 2006)
Despite all the interest surrounding political trust, there really is no agreement on how to
measure the concept. The original five questions included in the American National Election
Studies in 1958 include: trust the government to do what is right, whether government is run by a
few big interests, how much tax money the government wastes, whether those running
government are crooked and whether those running government are smart. (Gershtenson, Plane
2006)
Earlier research conducted in 1974 utilized a trust index based on these five questions.
Since that time, a majority of research on political trust has employed just four questions. They
omitted the question about whether those running government are smart. This was removed
from the series in 1980. Others, still yet, have used other items to construct their measure. All
questions were not asked equally in all research and to complicate matters, the answer choices
did not fully give a proper snapshot of trust.
Defining political trust is as varied as the researchers who have traveled down that path.
If we look at trust as Marc Hetherintgon stated in his book, Why Trust Matters, we would have to
define the expectations of those being asked the question. Depending on the expectations of the

participants would greatly determine if the government is consistent in producing those

outcomes. (Hetherington 2006)
Hetherington looks at how public policy has changed so dramatically since the 1960s and
many politicians have actually destroyed all the gains made during the Civil Rights Era. He
references the Carter years as being the worst time in history that the trust in government has
had. Each and every historical event in some way has shaped our nation over the last several
decades. (Hetherington 2006)
Hetherington revisited the trust issue eight years after his book. He and Thomas Rudolph
looked at partisan issues related to trust. They discovered through an on-going project that
partisans from the party opposite the presidents do not trust the government at all.
In the 1960s, Americans held positive opinions toward the government. All that changed
with Watergate. When that scandal struck, only 36 percent of Americans expressed optimal faith
in the government. Interestingly, that number has never been above 50 percent since then, with
one exception. September 11, 2001 brought temporarily higher numbers but has declined
dramatically since that point. (Matthews 2014)
Because of the 40th anniversary of Watergate last year, Americans were polled on their
feelings about the infamous break-in in Washington. Those who were over the age of 40 stated
that Watergate was a major problem while those under 40 felt it was politics as usual. This is not
to suggest that the younger demographic felt that the behaviors demonstrated during the
Watergate incident were acceptable. Rather, it reflects the growing distrust toward the
government.

In their book, Why People Dont Trust Government? (Nye, Zelikow, King 1997), the
authors look at the changing attitudes in America as well as the social and cultural causes of
dissatisfaction.
Looking at the decline in trust of the government over the last 40 years, they do not
believe that the culprits include a weakened economy or scandals. They point to news media.
Media plays a huge part in all the negativism that goes along with public office. It is difficult to
measure perceptions from 40 years ago when social media and 24-hour news coverage was not
even invented.
Liz Sidoti points out in her article, Trust in government? Poll finds nearly 80% of
Americans dont, how the Tea Party movement has thrived due to the anti-government feeling.
She lays equal blame for both parties causing grid-lock and refusing to hear what the people tell
them. The promises that are spoken on the campaign trail are rarely kept, if at all. Democrats
argue that the federal government can make everything right while Republicans tout it is all
about the individual. Neither side is completely right and until they get that understood, the
continued downward spiral of trust will continue.
The existing literature is fascinating to read. While the truth of the matter is trust in the
government in America is declining, there is an argument as to the reasons. This researcher
would like to share results of the survey completed for this project.
Using social media, this researcher posed four questions to roughly 100 people. Of that
number, only 30 replied. The questions that were asked include:
1.
2.
3.
4.

What is your political affiliation?

Do you trust the government?
Does your perception of the economy affect your trust in the government?
Do you have knowledge of the scandals in Washington?

Statistical Results
The dependent variable for this research is trust in the government. The independent variables
are: Opinion regarding the economy; Political party; Knowledge of governmental
agency/institution scandals
Case Processing Summary
Cases
Valid
N
Political Party * Trust

Missing
Percent

30

100.0%

Total

Percent
0

0.0%

Percent
30

100.0%

Political Party * Trust Crosstabulation

Trust
Yes
Political Party

Democrat

Count

10

20.0%

80.0%

100.0%

100.0%

28.6%

33.3%

10

10

% within Political Party

0.0%

100.0%

100.0%

% within Trust

0.0%

35.7%

33.3%

10

10

% within Political Party

0.0%

100.0%

100.0%

% within Trust

0.0%

35.7%

33.3%

28

30

6.7%

93.3%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

% within Trust

Republican

Total

Total

% within Political Party

Independent

No

Count

Count

Count
% within Political Party
% within Trust

Those who identify with a major party affiliation, that is, Democrat, Independent, Republican,
overwhelmingly state they do not trust the government. Twenty-eight out of thirty participants
stated they do not trust the government. Therefore, party affiliation does not bear an effect on
this random sample.

Trust * Economy Crosstabulation

Economy

Trust

Yes

No

Total

Count

% within Trust

100.0%

0.0%

100.0%

% within Economy

10.0%

0.0%

6.7%

Count

18

10

28

% within Trust

64.3%

35.7%

100.0%

% within Economy

90.0%

100.0%

93.3%

Count

20

10

30

% within Trust

66.7%

33.3%

100.0%

% within Economy

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

Yes

No

Total

This table indicates that the participants opinion regarding the economy does indeed affect their
trust in government.

Trust * Scandals Crosstabulation

Scandals
Yes
Trust

Yes

Count

100.0%

0.0%

100.0%

12.5%

0.0%

6.7%

14

14

28

% within Trust

50.0%

50.0%

100.0%

% within Scandals

87.5%

100.0%

93.3%

16

14

30

53.3%

46.7%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

% within Scandals

Total

Total

% within Trust

No

No

Count

Count
% within Trust
% within Scandals

This table reflects the participants knowledge of scandals and how it impacts their trust in the
government. Only a slight margin agreed that their trust of the government is based on recent
scandalous behavior within governmental agencies.

CHAPTER 3. DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATIONS

The government, much like this research project, has many twists and turns associated
with it. Trends indicate that public trust in the American government has been on a steady
decline for well over 40 years. To pinpoint the reasons behind this phenomenon would take an
act of Congress, pun intended, to figure out.
The theories are as widely varied as who was really behind the shooting of President
Kennedy. The questions and answers to the mainstay survey, the American National Election
Studies, were not consistently utilized during the past 40-50 years on this subject. The questions
cannot truly be measurable as some of them have been removed or re-stated. The answer choices
did not provide enough information to really delve into what people felt. They were more
generic that fact-finding.
This researcher believes that to conclude that people do not trust the government is
correct. However, to date there is nothing that can accurately pinpoint the root causes. There are
theories, very good theories, which can explain the decline. However, there is nothing concrete
about what causes this perception in our country.
The recommendations this researcher has for future research on this matter would be to
take the existing research, use the original question set from the American National Election
Studies and make the answers more robust so that people can give an honest answer and compare
to the same survey. The surveys that have been conducted without consistency are not valid.
Additionally, this researcher believes that it would be worth looking at demographics and
their perceptions of right and wrong and how that affects their perceptions of the government and
what role the press/media play into this affair.

References

Brutal poll numbers reveal how America is losing faith in the government (2014) Retrieved from
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/11/01/brutal-poll-numbers-reveal-how-america-is-losingfaith-in-the-government/
Gershtenson, J., Plane, D. (2007) Trust in government. 2006 American National Election Studies
Pilot Report. Retrieved from
http://www.electionstudies.org/resources/papers/Pilot2006/nes011890.pdf
Hetherington, M. (2006) Why Trust Matters: Declining Political Trust and the Demise of
American Liberalism. Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton University Press.
Hetherington, M., Rudolph, T. (2014) Why dont Americans trust the government? Because the
other party is in power. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkeycage/wp/2014/01/30/why-dont-americans-trust-the-government-because-the-other-party-is-inpower/
Mathews, K. (2014) Do you trust the government? 87% of Americans dont. Retrieved from
http://www.care2.com/causes/do-yo-trust-the-government-87-of-americans-dont.html.
Nye, J., Zelikow, P., King, D., (1997) Why People Dont Trust Government. Cambridge,
Massachusetts, Harvard University Press.
Sidoti, L. (2010) Trust in government? Poll finds nearly 80% of Americans dont Retrieved from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/19/trust-in-government-poll_n_542423.html