Majority of Americans distrust government

The majority of Americans living in the Midwest are becoming more and more distrusting of government a Pew Research Center for the People and the Press finds.

According to “The People and Their Government: Distrust, Discontent, Anger and Partisan Rancor,” nationally and in the Midwest only 22 percent of survey respondents reported always or sometimes having trust in the government. The public wants less government control, with the exception of financial institutions, and is looking for reform.

The study warns the level of trust in government is nearing a record low.

“They haven’t quite broken through the all-time levels, but they’re approaching it,” said Carroll Doherty, the Pew Center’s associate director to The Columbus Dispatch.

Forty-eight percent of Americans in the Midwest feel the government is a threat to their rights and freedoms, and 42 percent feel the government has a negative impact on their daily life.

Even state officials agree Congress is dysfunctional.  According to The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio senators and representatives cite a lack of moderates and disconnect between Washington, D.C., and “the real world” as key factors for the 77 percent of Midwesterners who only sometimes or never trust the government.

“Families know they’ve got to balance their budget. They wonder why Congress can’t do more to balance budgets,” said Ohio Rep.  Mary Jo Kilroy.

The report also found 60 percent frustrated and 20 percent angry about the federal government.

“I think one of the reasons people have this impression of dysfunction is that people are frustrated right now that members of Congress are not listening to them,” said Ohio Rep. Steve Austria.

While the majority of Americans in the Midwest distrust the government, the report found 44 percent would vote Republican and 43 percent would vote Democrat if an election were held today. Only two percent of those questioned would vote for a different party or had no opinion and 11 percent either did no know or refused to answer the question.

Part of the distrust may also stem from the country’s current economic state, according to a Huffington Post column.  Trust also falls after a political scandal. In the wake of both Watergate and the Iran Contra scandal, the country saw steep declines in the public’s trust in government.

“Combined with a poor economy, it means the Democrats are challenged by an anti-incumbent headwind heading into this election,” wrote Sheri and Allan Rivlin in the Huffington Post.