Fewer Americans say federal government improving their lives: Gallup

Fewer Americans than last year think the federal government is effective at making a positive impact on people’s lives, according to a new poll released Wednesday.

In the Bentley University-Gallup Business in Society survey , about 43 percent of respondents said the federal government has been effective in making a positive impact on people’s lives. This is down 8 percentage points from last year.

The federal government is also the institution least trusted to act in society’s best interest, with 26 percent of respondents saying so.

The federal government is among four institutions measured in the new survey, which also included business, state and local governments, and charitable and advocacy organizations. It is also the one which saw the largest drop in perceived effectiveness.

About 26 percent of Americans said they trust the federal government to act in society’s best interest, down 5 points from last year.

Those polled placed slightly higher trust in the state and local governments and in businesses, at 41 percent and 47 percent, respectively.

Views of charitable and advocacy organizations were much higher at 80 percent.

In comparison to last year, Democrats’ trust in the federal government fell from 33 percent to 21 percent and effectiveness ratings dropped from 54 percent to 41 percent. On the contrary, for Republicans, the trust increased from 36 percent to 41 percent while effectiveness ratings remained steady.

Despite the ups and downs in perceived effectiveness and trust, an overwhelming 92 percent of respondents believed that the federal government had the power to make an impact on people’s lives.

“The 49-point chasm between the federal government’s perceived power and performance represents both a warning and an opportunity: Americans believe better outcomes are possible,” the Gallup report said.

The findings are based on a web survey with 3,270 U.S. adults, conducted between May 4-11. The margin of sampling error at the 95 percent confidence level is 2.4 percentage points for response percentages around 50 percent and 1.4 percentage points for response percentages around 10 percent or 90 percent.