Americans favor homeland agency even as trust in government drops

RELATED
While Americans' overall trust in government has fallen from the very high levels reported after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, they still favor creation of a new Cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security to prevent future attacks.

In a CNN/Gallup/USA Today poll conducted last week, 60 percent of respondents said Congress should pass legislation to create the new department. Just 29 percent opposed the idea.

Eighty percent of the respondents said they had a "fair amount" or a "great deal" of confidence that the federal government can protect citizens from future attacks.

But only 46 percent said they trust the government in Washington to do what is right "just about always" or "most of the time." Fifty-four percent said they trusted government "only some of the time" or "never."

Surveys conducted shortly after Sept. 11 by the Gallup Organization and the University of Michigan showed that 60 percent of Americans said they trusted government to do what is right "just about always" or most of the time," compared to just 39 percent who indicated a low level of trust.

Those numbers were nearly reversed from polls taken prior to the attacks, and showed the highest level of support for the federal government since before the Watergate scandal.

Stay up-to-date with federal news alerts and analysis — Sign up for GovExec's email newsletters.
Digital Briefing Center: Intelligent Automation
Digital Briefing Center: The Hitchhiker's Guide to Government Travel
What Will Be the Top IT Priorities of the Next DoD CIO?
Why are new government initiatives so hard to implement?
FROM OUR SPONSORS
JOIN THE DISCUSSION

By using this service you agree not to post material that is obscene, harassing, defamatory, or otherwise objectionable. Although GovExec.com does not monitor comments posted to this site (and has no obligation to), it reserves the right to delete, edit, or move any material that it deems to be in violation of this rule.

Close [ x ] More from GovExec
 
Next Story
 

Thank you for subscribing to newsletters from GovExec.com.
We think these reports might interest you:

  • Forecasting Cloud's Future

    Conversations with Federal, State, and Local Technology Leaders on Cloud-Driven Digital Transformation

    Download

  • The Big Data Campaign Trail

    With everyone so focused on security following recent breaches at federal, state and local government and education institutions, there has been little emphasis on the need for better operations. This report breaks down some of the biggest operational challenges in IT management and provides insight into how agencies and leaders can successfully solve some of the biggest lingering government IT issues.

    Download

  • Communicating Innovation in Federal Government

    Federal Government spending on ‘obsolete technology’ continues to increase. Supporting the twin pillars of improved digital service delivery for citizens on the one hand, and the increasingly optimized and flexible working practices for federal employees on the other, are neither easy nor inexpensive tasks. This whitepaper explores how federal agencies can leverage the value of existing agency technology assets while offering IT leaders the ability to implement the kind of employee productivity, citizen service improvements and security demanded by federal oversight.

    Download

  • IT Transformation Trends: Flash Storage as a Strategic IT Asset

    MIT Technology Review: Flash Storage As a Strategic IT Asset For the first time in decades, IT leaders now consider all-flash storage as a strategic IT asset. IT has become a new operating model that enables self-service with high performance, density and resiliency. It also offers the self-service agility of the public cloud combined with the security, performance, and cost-effectiveness of a private cloud. Download this MIT Technology Review paper to learn more about how all-flash storage is transforming the data center.

    Download

  • Ongoing Efforts in Veterans Health Care Modernization

    This report discusses the current state of veterans health care

    Download

When you download a report, your information may be shared with the underwriters of that document.