New Pew Poll: "Just 22% say they can trust the government in Washington almost always or most of the time, among the lowest measures in half a century....In a follow-up survey in early April, just 25% expressed a favorable opinion of Congress, which was virtually unchanged from March (26%), prior to passage of the health care reform bill. This is the lowest favorable rating for Congress in a quarter century of Pew Research Center surveys. Over the last year, favorable opinions of Congress have declined by half – from 50% to 25%."
More: "In the current survey, 56% say they are frustrated with the federal government, 21% say they are angry and 19% say they are basically content."
More: "Favorable ratings for the Democratic Party have fallen by 21 points – from 59% to 38% – over the past year and now stand at their lowest point in Pew Research surveys."
More: "When asked about a series of criticisms of elected officials in Washington – that they care only about their careers, are influenced by special interests, are unwilling to compromise, and are profligate and out-of-touch – large majorities (no fewer than 76%) agree with each of the statements."
Favorable ratings for banks and large corporations are about as low as those for Congress and the federal government, "and the marks are only slightly more positive for the national news media (31%) labor unions (32%) and the entertainment industry (33%)." More popular are small businesses, technology companies, churches and religious organizations, and colleges and universities.
Most Americans (58%) say that "the government has gone too far in regulating business and interfering with the free enterprise system." But 61% of those polled also say they want stricter regulation of financial companies.
The main survey was of 2,505 U.S. adults (not of the narrower sample of registered or likely voters). There were three follow-up surveys of about 1,000 adults each.
