I recently developed a poll in Facebook whereby I was curious how Americans generally felt about their government officials, specifically how much they trusted them. To this end, the question was simply:
"For U.S. citizens only. In terms of your government officials (including Federal, State, and Local), how much do you TRUST your government?"
66 people participated in the poll, not exactly a landslide in terms of people, but still a respectable number. Here are the results:
0 - TOTAL TRUST - government officials have my best interests in mind. Keep everyone in office.
9% (6) - SOMEWHAT TRUST - I tend to believe in my government officials and I will support those I think are doing a good job.
12% (8) - AVERAGE - I am ambivalent. I can go either way depending on circumstances.
52% (34) - SOMEWHAT DISTRUST - I am suspicious of my government and I am inclined to vote out of office those I think are incompetent.
27% (18) - TOTAL DISTRUST - Government officials do not have my best interests in mind, I will vote out all incumbents in the next election.
I guess the results of the poll were to be expected. Even if more people participated in it, I believe the percentages would still be about the same. People today simply do not trust politicians. If we are so dissatisfied though, why do we reelect the same people over and over again? It seems we tolerate their behavior regardless of what they do. It's kind of like thanking someone for mugging us, but with a little more finesse.
I sense a backlash is in the offing though as people become more aware of our growing economic problems, not just the meltdown of 2008, but our growing debt that looks more insurmountable with each passing day. In a way, it reminds me of the 1978 taxpayer revolt in California where the people finally got fed up with escalating property taxes and implemented the legendary "Proposition 13" to limit it (anyone remember Howard Jarvis?). This revolt helped propel Ronald Reagan into the limelight and launch his conservative movement.
From the discontent I am hearing today, I believe a similar groundswell is in the offing, and it will be so large, it will register shock waves on the Richter scale. In the next election, do not be surprised if you see a record number of incumbent officials voted out of office, not just at the federal level, but state and municipal as well.
I remember a time when we openly trusted our government officials, but I think the 1960's changed all of that. When the stock market was clicking along on an upswing and we balanced the federal government's budget, it seemed we were more inclined to overlook the indiscretions of our officials. Today though, as the economy stagnates, it is difficult to be trusting of any government official. I'm just thankful that I am not a politician as I believe people today will be giving a lot of them their walking papers in the next election.
Such is my Pet Peeve of the Week.
Keep the Faith!
Note: All trademarks both marked and unmarked belong to their respective companies.
Tim Bryce is the Managing Director of M. Bryce & Associates (MBA) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 30 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb001@phmainstreet.com
For a listing of Tim's Pet Peeves, click HERE.
Tune into Tim's new podcast, "The Voice of Palm Harbor," at:
http://www.phmainstreet.com/voiceph.htm
Copyright © 2009 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.
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Comments: 7
In the main, they are more reliable and better performing than those in private business due to less temptation to cheat.
You know that where we live it did not even matter if we voted in our last presidential election or not? There is not enough people over here on the farms or small town to matter.
If anyone deals directly with such social structures as disability, one would get to the point that government is not exactly in our favor.
Look at the infrastructure of America. Is this not the governments job to secure such things as our public bridges, dikes and such? Hello....
There is not jokes circulating over government jobs for nothing. It is human nature to get secure within a job one has. Security sometimes breeds laziness.
I personally feel that if we did as our founding fathers intended, there would not be politicians living off of public welfare. They would still have there jobs, they would still live in the community they are supposed to be representing. As it stands now these politicians are so out of touch with reality and how real Americans live, how can they possibly know how we think and feel on issues?
Welfare is welfare and carrier politicians live off the goodness of the American people. Even to the point the American people go without so they can have. Everyone knows one will be well off if only one can get that government job, and the career politicians are at the top of that heap. So we will keep giving so they can have there gazillion dollar homes and take those vacations......
Good post
All the Best,
Tim Bryce
I think you're right, Tim. Our elected officials should take the pulse of their constituency and clean up their acts if they hope to remain employed. It is no secret that the American people are fed up and ready for new representation.
I had one gentleman suggest the best way to get of incumbents is to simply eliminate their pensions. Not a bad idea if you ask me.
All the Best,
Tim