Fully 80 Percent of Americans have lost trust in the government ... Only one-in-five still think government can solve all their problems

Wednesday, December 09, 2015 by: Jennifer Lea Reynolds
Tags: trust in government, PEW poll, American citizens

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(NaturalNews) According to the latest poll from the Pew Research Center – which was based on 6,000 interviews – close to 80 percent of Americans severely distrust the U.S. government.⁽¹⁾

The poll, conducted between August and October 2015, demonstrates that most people are frustrated with how the government is handling pertinent issues facing the country. In particular, poverty and immigration are top of mind.⁽²⁾

The Pew Research Center states that "Currently, just 19% say they can trust the government always or most of the time, among the lowest levels in the past half-century. Only 20% would describe government programs as being well-run. And elected officials are held in such low regard that 55% of the public says 'ordinary Americans' would do a better job of solving national problems."⁽²⁾

Yikes.

On the bright(ish) side, high percentages of both Democrats and Republicans feel that the government handles natural disasters, workplace safety standards and infrastructure issues well.

Divide over economy, healthcare access evident

Still, wide gaps persist on other fronts, such as the finding that "Republicans are half as likely as Democrats to say the government does a good job in strengthening the economy (34% vs. 68%)." The gap is also evident when it comes to how the government handles healthcare access – 40% of Republicans versus 74% of Democrats.⁽²⁾

With mounting tensions building in the country, poll results like this one hardly seem a surprise.

After all, take a seat in your local coffee shop and chances are, you'll overhear conversations between those who feel beaten by "the system." Chat with your local business owners, and many of them will shake their heads over an economy that still has a long way to go. And dare to get into debates with opinionated friends and family members about the country's challenges. All in all, it's obvious that people are at their wits' end.

Life in America not what it used to be

Interestingly, though, the fact that nearly 80 percent of Americans don't have much faith in the government means that there's still a bunch of people – 1 in 5 – who think that the way the government operates deserves a high-five on a regular basis. Sure, we can compare ourselves to other parts of the world with thoughts that attempt to make us feel better, such as: at least the entire country isn't poverty-stricken or drinking contaminated water; at least we're not greeted by a military presence at every turn ...

Oh, wait a minute.

The National Center for Children in Poverty maintains that approximately 15 million children live in poverty in the U.S., some of them even in bustling and prestigious areas like Boston, Massachusetts.⁽³⁾

As for contaminated water, Natural News readers are well-aware that our water is less than ideal. There have been discoveries of bottled water laced with a slew of health-harming toxins, ranging from pharmaceutical drugs and solvents, to arsenic and radioactive isotopes. Couple this with the fracking going on, in which the air and water is becoming increasingly contaminated and destroying the agriculture, and the issue remains problematic.^(4,5)

When it comes to a military presence, how about turning on the news and taking in the violence du jour? SWAT teams make their way down residential streets; uniformed individuals stand guard in areas that never required their ongoing presence; and people are running scared.

Furthermore, a great deal of people are utterly bewildered at the healthcare system – so frustrated over paperwork complexities and changing insurance standards, that throwing their arms up in the air is not unusual.

Americans hardly even trust each other anymore!

In the end, are we not feeling a bit like (spoiler alert if you haven't read George Orwell's 1984) the 1984 character Winston, who was really just a decent guy trying to do the right thing, but who ultimately ended up thinking that wrong was right, thanks to the endless government interrogation and brainwashing he was subjected to on a daily basis?

Heck, even beyond this Pew Research Center poll which shows distrust of the government, people don't even trust each other anymore. Surveys through the years have found there to be a growing mistrust of other Americans, by Americans themselves. These days, about one-third of people in the U.S. feel this way; everything from drivers and cashiers, to people encountered while traveling, give off mistrusting vibes that have created a nation where we feel we can barely trust our neighbors.⁽⁶⁾

So there you have it. We're very leery of our government, and even leery of our fellow citizens. Is this really the new "normal" we should accept?

Sources for this article include:

(1) News.Investors.com

(2) People-Press.org

(3) ABCNews.go.com

(4) NaturalNews.com

(5) NaturalNews.com

(6) HuffingtonPost.com