Near all-time low: Only 1 in every 5 Americans trust their government, Pew survey shows
Less than a year before the United States picks a new leader, Americans are "deeply cynical" about the government and politics, according to results of the latest Pew Research Center survey.
The poll, conducted on 6,000 participants from Aug. 27 to Oct. 4, revealed that only one in every five, or 19 percent of Americans, trust the government always or most of the time.
This figure is near the all-time low trust rating for the American government, registered at 15 percent by the Pew Research Center in October 2011.
The same survey, a summary of which was published on the center's website, also showed that a mere 20 percent of Americans would describe government programmes as being "well-run."
At the same time, the poll also revealed low regard for elected officials at present. According to 55 percent of those surveyed, "ordinary Americans" would do a better job at solving the country's problems compared to politicians.
According to a Time Magazine article, these sentiments against the American government are boosting the popularity of outsiders seeking the U.S. presidency, particularly Republican presidential hopefuls Donald Trump, a business tycoon, and Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon.
Quite expectedly, Republican respondents who participated in the survey said the government should have a smaller role in key areas of governance, including ensuring a strong economy and access to education.
Nevertheless, most Americans still managed to identify a lot of areas where the government should focus on. The top of the mind choice—expressed by 94 percent of the respondents—is "keeping the country safe from terror."
Majority of the respondents also said that the federal government should have a major role in responding to natural disasters, ensuring safe food and medicine, managing the immigration system and maintaining infrastructure.
Most Americans said they like how the federal government handles a number of issues. But only 26 percent thought the government is doing a good job in managing the immigration system.
