Acute Angles: Understanding Government |
These days there’s a remarkable disconnect between the people and their government. On both the local and the national level, Americans don’t trust their elected representatives and feel they are not responsive to their needs.
In a survey taken earlier this year, 68% of the people in Arizona said their legislators are an embarrassment to the state. 70% are convinced they act on impulse rather than deep thought, 50% said they are incompetent, and 52% said they are arrogant. In another and more recent survey, after the voters elected a Republican Congress, 54% of those with an opinion said that they trust the Democrats to do a better job in coping with the problems the country will face over the next few years, and they trust the Democrats more than the Republicans.
This situation is difficult to understand, because in a democracy the government is the people, and their representatives are chosen in a free election. In an effort to understand these contradictions, this column sent teams of researchers out to interview voters all over the country to find out how and why they voted as they did and why they feel the way they do. The results of this study will be submitted to a prestigious peer-reviewed journal, and will be the basis of a national best-seller. The responses of the voters were remarkably similar, regardless of the geographical location or party affiliation of those being questioned, and they felt the same both about their local legislators and about their congressmen. It was almost as if all the interviewers were talking to the same voter. Here’s a typical interview. The others are almost identical.
Interviewer: What do you think of your elected representatives?
Voter: They’re a bunch of politicians. I don’t trust any of them.
Interviewer: Would you say they’re doing a better or worse job than you expected?
Voter: I never expected them to do a good job.
Interviewer: Do you think they understand the problems of people like you?
Voter: Of course not – they’re politicians.
Interviewer: What are the issues that are important to you?
Voter: Keeping the economy strong, holding down health care costs, protecting the environment, protecting the economy, protecting Social Security, cutting taxes.
Interviewer: Do you think they’re competent when it comes to keeping the economy strong?
Voter: They’re not competent to do anything right.
Interviewer: How do you think they are on protecting the environment? Voter: They’re more interested in protecting the interests of the big corporations and their lobbyists than in the environment.
Interviewer: How do you feel about taxes?
Voter: We pay too much in taxes and don’t get anything for it. The government keeps getting bigger, we get less services, they tell us there’s no inflation but prices keep going up.
Interviewer: What about the proposed tax cuts?
Voter: It’s all going to go to the rich people. Interviewer: But they pay most of the taxes.
Voter: They make most of the money.
Interviewer: Do you ever let the people who represent you know how you feel about the issues?
Voter: What’s the use? You call and write letters, but they don’t pay any attention. They only pay attention to the lobbyists who take them to lunch and buy them gifts, and to the people who give them big campaign contributions. The only time you hear from them is when they want a campaign contribution.
Interviewer: In general, what do you think about the performance of your representatives?
Voter: They’re doing everything wrong. They collect all our tax money and spend it on the wrong things. They don’t do enough for education. They allow too much waste and fraud in government operations. They’re not doing enough to keep down medical costs, we’re not getting help with prescription drugs, and they’re going to ruin Social Security. They’re not taking care of the environment. I don’t have any confidence in them.
Interviewer: We live in a democracy. We have free elections. The voters pick the people who represent them, and they have a choice. Considering how you feel about your legislators and representatives, and it’s you voters who elect them, why don’t you vote for somebody else?
Voter: My guy is okay. It’s the others that are the problem.