Only 19 percent of the American public trusts the federal government to do what’s right, a seven point drop since January, according to a new Pew poll released Friday.
That measure is now equivalent to the level in August 2011, when the last debt ceiling debate rocked Washington.
Thirty percent are angry with the federal government, up four points since September, while twelve percent are content with the government.
A Gallup Poll released at the beginning of October found that 33 percent of Americans said that government dysfunction is the biggest problem in the nation, the highest percentage in a Gallup poll since 1939. Those surveyed placed government dysfunction above the economy, unemployment, the deficit and healthcare as the biggest problem plaguing the country.
The Pew poll, conducted Oct. 9-13, surveyed 1,504 adults via phone with a margin of error sampling of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points. The Gallup poll, conducted Oct. 3-6, surveyed 1,028 adults via telephone with a margin of error sampling of plus or minue 4 percentage points.
