[By Bhanu Dhamija]

Americans’ trust in their government has been declining for decades and has reached a new low. These days, only 20% of adults say they trust Washington to do the right thing almost always or most of the time. Americans cite government and poor leadership as the nation’s top problem, over every other issue, including inflation, immigration, gun violence, crime and racism.

But given the country’s performance overall, this decline in public trust is unwarranted. 

The U.S. government has remained in the very top tier of performance measures since the World Bank started reporting on those in 1996. Across all six of the Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators—effectiveness; regulatory quality; rule of law; control of corruption; voice and accountability, and political stability/absence of violence—America has routinely scored in the 90th percentile on average. A recent exception was in 2021, due mainly to the January 6 attack on the Capitol. In 2022, in the U.S. News & World Report’s Best Countries Ranking, which measured 85 nations on 73 attributes like Care for Human Rights and Social Justice, America scored in the top five.

Reasons for Decline in Public Trust

There are three main reasons for the persistent decline of public trust in the federal government: its rapidly expanding role, rising public ignorance of how it works, and the nation’s deepening partisanship. As the federal government’s size has increased, its reputation has fallen because all democratic governments are inherently political and inefficient. Today, most Americans think their government has become too powerful and tries to do too much.

Americans are also increasingly ignorant of how the government functions. An astounding 50% can’t name its three branches, let alone how they interact. And partisanship, which was meant for politicians, has seeped into people’s living rooms and kitchens, thanks to the explosion in partisan media. This has drowned out all intelligent debate and discussion of common ground. Partisanship sells, but bipartisan compromise has no such megaphone. 

America’s system, however, was very cleverly designed: bipartisanship and divided government are part of its formula. The last administration that enjoyed unified government throughout its term, in fact, was President Jimmy Carter’s, and he lost his reelection bid after a tenure that was hardly known for its performance.  

In the 1960s citizens’ public trust in government was at its peak, at about 77%. But the country’s GDP was a mere $750 billion and per capita income was less than $4,000. Racism and sexism were rampant, and the country was embroiled in such conflicts as Vietnam and the Cold War. Today, America’s GDP is $23 trillion; per capita income is above $70,000; the country has the most racially and ethnically diverse Congress in its history, and it is fighting no direct wars. 

Over the past 236 years under the Constitution, American administrations have generally performed very well. They’ve increased the size of the country nine-fold, and from those 13 ragtag colonies have created the world’s biggest economy and most powerful military. They have led the nation to victories against imperialism, fascism, communism, religious extremism, and authoritarianism. The country stands tall despite having been through a Civil War, a Great Depression, two World Wars and two pandemics. Today, America is seen as the world’s leading force for democracy, human rights, personal freedoms, and free markets.  

Even recently, the beleaguered American government has delivered. It enacted huge social programs in such areas as healthcare (the Affordable Care Act); education (Every Student Succeeds Act); Covid relief (CARES Act and American Rescue Plan) and criminal justice reform (First Step Act). It has also made big economic investments—in land and water conservation (Great American Outdoors Act); infrastructure (Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill); tax relief (Tax Cuts and Jobs Act); space exploration (SPACE Act); energy and climate change (Inflation Reduction Act), and chip manufacturing (CHIPS and Science Act). For protecting freedoms worldwide, the government has given Ukraine nearly $75 billion for its war effort; chastised China for its aggression in Uyghur (Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act), Hong Kong (Hong Kong Autonomy Act), and Taiwan (TAIPEI Act), and imposed unprecedented sanctions on Iran, North Korea, and Russia (CAATSA).

If despite such solid performance the American people are losing faith in their government, it’s a matter of grave concern and deserves closer scrutiny. 

Americans have a long tradition of mistrusting government and that is not necessarily a bad thing.

First let’s consider the many nuances behind the dissatisfaction. Americans have a long tradition of mistrusting government and that is not necessarily a bad thing. For example, one of the steepest declines in trust occurred during the Watergate Scandal, and since then administrations have faced more and more scrutiny. Also, while Americans’ distrust of the federal government is rising, their faith in state and local governments remains high. And lastly, Americans’ unhappiness with government has long coexisted with praise for many of its functions, such as responding to natural disasters and keeping the country safe from terrorism.

The good news is that all the leading causes of declining trust—the government’s role, people’s ignorance, and partisan noise—are cyclical and will surely change again. The American people, in their historical wisdom, can reverse course and limit the federal government, educate themselves about civics, and act more responsibly and independently. And therein lies the hope that America’s best days are still yet to come.