Do You Trust Government?

Do you trust the government? The Pew Research Center last week released the results of a poll on trust in government. Only 22% of those polled said they can trust government “almost always or most of the time.” Only 19% say they are “basically content” with the federal government. My initial reaction to the results of the poll was surprise that even as many as 20% of our fellow citizens believe they can trust government. After thinking about it, however, my surprise turned to understanding when it occurred to me that virtually all of those who trust government are, in all likelihood, totally or largely dependent on government for their livelihood. Unfortunately, government has become the new “sugar daddy” for far too many of our fellow citizens. It’s logical that those who are dependent upon government are more likely to trust and support it.

The flip side of the poll is that approximately 80% of American citizens are unhappy with government. Favorable ratings for both political parties have reached record lows. Only 25% express a favorable opinion of Congress, which is the lowest favorable rating for Congress in a quarter century of surveys conducted by the Pew Research Center. Favorable ratings for the Democratic Party have fallen from 59% to 38% over the past year and now stand at their lowest point in Pew Research surveys. Opinions about the Republican Party are no better, with only 37% viewing it favorably.

The press release issued by the Pew Research Center said, “As in the past, poor performance is the most persistent criticism of the federal government. Fully 74% think that the federal government does only a fair or poor job of running its programs.” The press release also reported that 43% of the people think government has a negative effect on daily life. At a time when the government is expanding its powers almost every day, approximately half of the American people now say they want a smaller government with fewer services.

My own distrust of government and politicians—both Republicans and Democrats—has grown substantially during the last year. Almost every day, I find more reasons to distrust government and the politicians who run it. Let me give you six examples from the last week that fortify my increasing distrust of government.

(1) Economic experts in the Health and Human Services Department issued a report this week stating the new health care law will increase rather than decrease overall national health care spending. When the new law was signed last month, President Obama said it would “bring down health care costs for families and businesses and governments.” This week’s report from Medicare’s Office of Actuary expressed a different view. The report projected that health care spending under the new law will increase by a total of $311 billion compared with the amounts that otherwise would have been spent from 2010 to 2019. According to the report, the increase in spending will be even worse if Congress fails to implement the cuts in Medicare assumed under the health care bill. But if the Medicare cuts are implemented, the report says many hospitals and nursing homes will driven into the red, which would jeopardize access to care for seniors. Richard S. Foster, the chief Medicare actuary, issued the report. According to The New York Times, Mr. Foster was “lionized” by the Democrats as a “paragon of integrity” when he questioned cost estimates by the Bush administration. Many of the same people who previously praised Mr. Foster are now attempting to discredit him. After this week’s report was issued, the White House continued to insist the new law will reduce health care spending. Who do you trust?

(2) There is considerable speculation that Congress, after the November elections, will impose a new value-added tax on top of the current income tax to pay for the federal government’s unprecedented spending splurge. A value-added tax is a tax on the price of goods at each stage of production. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs has insisted that a value-added tax is not under consideration. In an interview last week, however, President Obama indicated a value-added tax is still on the table for consideration. Last week, the U.S. Senate, with strong support from Democrats, adopted a non-binding resolution denouncing a value-added tax. The Democrats, of course, don’t want any discussions of a massive new tax program until after the November elections. Is a value-added tax in our future? Who do you trust?

(3) Congress is currently considering comprehensive new legislation designed to give the federal government substantially more control over financial institutions and financial transactions. Many Republicans are opposed to the legislation. The Democrats are attempting to discredit the Republicans by saying they are simply trying to protect their wealthy friends on Wall Street. President Obama, our post-partisan President, lambasted the Republicans for opposing the legislation and said they had decided to do so after meeting with Wall Street bankers. According to news reports, however, leading Democrats, including President Obama, have also had numerous meetings with Wall Street bankers, a fact the Democrats fail to mention when they are criticizing the Republicans for doing the same thing. Moreover, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Democrats have received substantially more political contributions from the securities and investment industry than Republicans. Eight of the top ten Senate recipients of political donations from Wall Street are Democrats. In an article published today, The New York Times pointed out that the major legislative proposals being considered by Congress favor the large banks on Wall Street over smaller institutions. Is this just a coincidence? Who do you trust?

(4) In September of 2008, then Presidential candidate Barak Obama said, “Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.” I read this week about a report issued by the Republican members of the House Ways and Means Committee. According to Investor’s Business Daily, the report “notes that, since January 2009, Congress and the president have enacted $670 billion in tax increases. That’s $2,100 for each person in America. At least 14 of those tax hikes break Obama’s pledge not to raise taxes on those earning less than $250,000. Roughly $316 billion of the tax hikes—14 increases in all—hit middle-class families.” President Obama continues to say he will not raise taxes on families making less than $250,000 a year. Who do you trust?

(5) The Inspector General of the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a report stating that senior members of the agency’s staff were spending hours surfing pornographic Web sites while the nation’s financial system was collapsing. According to the report, one senior attorney spent up to eight hours a day looking and downloading pornography on government-issued computers. An SEC accountant was blocked more than 16,000 times in a single month from visiting pornographic Web sites, but he still managed to collect “very graphic” material on his government computer by bypassing the SEC’s internal filter. Who was managing these SEC employees while they were spending their time looking at pornography? Do you trust you are getting your money’s worth from the more than 2,000,000 federal government employees—excluding employees of the Post Office—who are being paid with your taxpayer dollars?

(6) Finally, the economy affects all of us all the time. Politicians are quick to take credit when the economy is improving and to cast blame on others when it’s not. Although there are encouraging signs the economy is beginning to improve, I continue to read reports almost every day about the high rate of unemployment. The unemployment rate continues to hover around 10% and would be much higher if the statistic included people who have given up looking for work. Within days after President Obama’s inauguration, Congress passed a $787 billion economic stimulus plan based on President Obama’s prediction that the unemployment rate would reach 9% without the stimulus plan but would stay at 8% or below if the stimulus plan were adopted. For most of the last year, the unemployment rate has been higher than President Obama said it would be without the stimulus plan. Because the economy is now showing signs of improvement, the Democrats are boasting that the stimulus plan worked. The Republicans claim it was a terrible failure and waste of money. Who to you believe, and who do you trust?

Do you trust the government? The poll conducted by the Pew Research Center didn’t ask why people don’t trust the government. The question didn’t need to be asked. If you want to know why people don’t trust the government, all you have to do is read the newspaper. Examples are everywhere.