The Distrust Of Government In The United States

Americans continue to distrust the government, although there are signs that hostility toward government has started to dwindle. According to Cohen, Eimicke, and Heikkila’s (2013), “there is still a popular and substantive consensus that government is not capable of producing public policies we might like to see implemented” (p. 4). Disappointment with political leaders is equally important of a factor in distrust of government as is criticism of the way government performs its duties. All if not most public and private sector organizations are flawed. Cohen, Eimicke, and Heikkila’s (2013) main arguments are: that the government is seen as wasteful and corrupt, business as lean and efficient; failed public sector programs being more closely