Gallop Poll on Trends July 2009 to July 2010 click to enlarge
Congress grabbed the attention in Gallup’s Trending Survey on Confidence in Institutions yesterday. Congress came in ranked dead last with an 11% confidence rating – down 6% points from last year’s poll. That said, Confidence in certain institutions which, in the past (circa 1950’s, 1960’s) were held as the epitome of trustworthiness, now fall with Congress at levels that should serve as a road map for Conservatives who would work to improve Washington, and the way we, as a nation are currently stymied by organized labor and woefully under performing public schools (also organized labor).
Congress may have an 11% approval ranking, losing 6 points over the past year, however, they are not alone: the Presidency has dropped 15% from a year ago, to a 36% confidence ranking - even with the Supreme Court, and above the following institutions: the public schools (34%), criminal justice systems (27%), newspapers (25%), banks (23%), Television News (22%), Organized Labor 20%, Tied at 19% Big Business (who actually gained 3 points) and HMO’s.
Who do American’s trust the most? The Military tops the list, followed by Small Business, the Police and Organized Religion – so much for the “Progressive Message”. What the balance of the poll suggests is that, “we the people” (or “the masses”) are not as trustworthy of institutions that appear to be owned and or affiliated with our government.
For example, Chris Christie, Governor of New Jersey, a Republican in a state known to run as blue as Massachusetts with a state government just as corrupt, faced down the “powerful teachers” union, and regularly spars with the press. He recently held the New Jersey legislature “hostage” until he got a vote to lower and cap the states property tax (Business week) – no mean feat.
Now, Christie faces the wrath of the unions and the teachers (unions again) as told by the press: Headlines in the past twenty four hours: “NJ’s largest state workers union warns lawmakers of cost for working with Gov. Christie” (Star-Ledger), and Salary Cap to Limit School Salaries”> (North Jersey.com)
Apparently, in New Jersey, and one can suspect elsewhere, the public no longer trusts the public schools to deliver a quality education, knowing full well that unions have become nothing more than lobbyist for the DNC, making money off the backs of, in most cases, degreed individuals who are in no more need of a union than a lobotomy. (Anyone capable of earning a master’s degree should be capable of holding and maintaining a job with benefits, without the aid and abet of a “union”. The only unions that should be chartered are those that support individuals who work in dangerous and life threatening environments, public or private and should not be extended to positions that would appear to be supervisory in nature. Additionally, unions should be, by law, unable to use dues collected for any other purpose than pensions and lawyers to wrangle with management – to whit, they have no place within our government or our schools.)The people get it, which explains the ranking. Chris Christie also gets it, which explains his success.
Shockingly (sarcasm), the press, both print and television news, take a beating this time out, (no change from last year), fully three-quarters of the nation do not trust the print and or televised news to deliver the goods in a trustworthy manner. From the largest newspapers and network news, to the local daily and NBC (or CBS, ABC) nightly news – the message is clear and “on-point” - any opposition to the President and or the Democrat Party is non-existent, (either in main news, sports, lifestyle and the real estate section, never mind editorials) should a Republican or Conservative (or God Forbid (God’s till popular) a member of the Tea Party, trip over a shoelace, it’s big news, for days on end – the public apparently has noticed. This accounts for the ratings over at Fox News, being through the roof as they offer an alternative, and also the falling subscriber base and the overall woes of a government run and progressive minded media.
Should someone wake up and decide to run a small business newspaper that delivered - news- without a slant to the left or right (leaving editorial where it belongs in the editorial section) - one might see a resurgence of the press, and a return of the economic health of the industry that once was looked upon as the pinnacle of trustworthiness – think Lois Lane.
Banks are caught between a rock and a hard place by none other than the government (Congress) who regulates and now, in some cases, outright owns them. (due to regulations - see Barney Frank) This particular ranking is in itself a double edged sword as it indicates confidence in the economy is not where it should be.
Therefore, when looking for someone trustworthy – one can still turn to the military (as long as the President is nowhere near it), the local police and ones neighborhood small business – organized religion is also considered somewhat “trustworthy”. All truly deserving institutions, to be sure, but what saddens those who may have seen teachers, banks and the Presidency and even the press - all held to a high esteem - those institutions once thought to be the backbone of our society - scoring so low in confidence – it denotes that there is work to be done.
Surely there is a way to bring confidence back to education, to the media, the Congress and the Presidency. 2010 is one of the building blocks to the future, with the public electing governors, congressional representatives and senators who share the principals and frankly the tactics of the Governor of New Jersey – 2012 will finish laying the foundation to a return of confidence in the power of the people to determine the course of our destiny – as defined by our Constitution.
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