Glad to have the company (pdf file):
We draw several conclusions from the collection. First, contemporary criticisms of the federal government are broad and deep. Today three in ten have no confidence that when Washington tackles a problem it will be solved. That is the highest response on the question since it was first asked in 1991. Nearly three in ten say the federal government does a poor job running its programs and another 46 percent says it does an "only fair" job. A majority say it needs "very major" reform. Only 3 percent say it doesn't need much change at all. More than twice as many say its performance is getting worse than getting better. The top criticism of government is that it is wasteful and inefficient.
The story about the poll results goes on to say that people want the federal government to do less. About 45 percent say the federal government is a threat to rights and freedom. Big government has been sneaking up on us for decades. People aren't generally alarmed by graudual changes, and few bother to look back at the starting point to assess where we are. But when an administration like President Obama's comes along that grows government so much in such a short time, more people notice.
Comments
Couldn't have anything to do with a relentless P.R. campaign about how crummy government is.
Doug, I would submit no relentless P.R. campaign exists, merely daily or even just occasional contact between the citizenry and it's overbloated, inefficient, spendthrift hierarchy of public "servants" is the reason for distrust, mistrust, exasperation, and even actual hatred of our government.
From the simplest local task, say, getting a drivers license, getting a building permit, selling a house, selling a car, getting rid of a refrigerator, repairing a furnace, disposing of light bulbs, getting a medical test at a hospital, getting on a plane, buying cold medicine, etc etc etc. there are literally thousands of repetitive forms, rules, regulations and disclaimers we all encounter every fricking day to remind us just how great our government is, from local to state to federal.
The only campaign illustrating the inept and over-reaching stupidity of our government is the actions of the government itself every single day.