Congress places first in a dubious category: according to a new survey released by the national polling firm Gallup, Incorporated, the federal legislative branch leads the way as the institution inspiring the least confidence in the country.
The survey shows only 8% of respondents expressing any degree of confidence in the ability of Congress to get anything done.
That depressing figure, at least from the perspective of an actual member of Congress, is actually an improvement over 2021 when 12% of respondents said they had no confidence in either the House of Representatives or the Senate.
While President Biden may enjoy Congress’ low repute, the respondents’ level of confidence in the presidency is also on the deficit side: only 26% expressed confidence in the executive branch, a drop of 12% since the summer of 2021.
The institution garnering the largest rate of confidence? The nation’s small businesses, with a 65% positive rating. That high positive rate is followed by the military, with a 60% confidence rate, and the nation’s police at 60%.
A narrative accompanying the new poll results notes that the nation’s “medical system and the church or organized religion round out the top five annually rated institutions, albeit with meager 34% and 32% confidence ratings, respectively.”
The survey, additionally showing a lack of confidence in such institutions as banks, public schools, large technology companies, labor unions, and the media, reflect a larger decline in nearly all institutions in general.
According to Gallup’s archived findings, the average confidence level on the part of respondents for all institutions in 1987 during the last year of Ronald Reagan’s presidency was at a high of 47%. That figure was down to 32% during George W. Bush’s last final twelve months as president and is now at an all-time low of 26%.
The Gallup narrative suggests one positive take on the country’s ongoing negative feelings: “None of the 15 institutions rated annually managed to repair their images, with many remaining at or near their all-time low,” it says of the most recent survey.
On the other hand, “the good news is that none worsened significantly.”
By Garry Boulard
