Nearly eight in 10 Americans do not trust the Federal government and have little confidence that it is capable of solving the nation’s woes, according to a recently released survey from the Pew Research Center.
Specifically, the poll found that just 22 percent of respondents said that they can trust the federal government almost always or most of the time, marking one of the lowest public confidence rates in the last 50 years. Moreover, nearly 50 percent of those surveyed said that the government negatively affects their daily lives and is a "threat to their personal freedom," Politico.com reports.
The poll, which surveyed 2,505 adults, also found that an overwhelming majority of Americans hold an unfavorable view of Congress. Over the last 12 months, the congressional approval rating has fallen from 50 percent to a quarter-century-worst 26 percent.
Andrew Kohut, director of the research center, said that the waning public confidence in Washington is due to a "perfect storm of conditions associated with distrust of government—a dismal economy, an unhappy public, bitter partisan-based backlash and epic discontent with Congress and elected officials."