Americans say they like federal employees better than appointees

Americans have a more favorable opinion of federal employees than they do of political appointees. But they think both groups are motivated by self-interest, according to a new survey from the Brookings Institution. Nearly 70 percent of Americans view federal employees favorably, but the majority believe people choose to work for the government out of a desire for job security and good benefits rather than a sense of public service, according to a new survey conducted by Brookings' Presidential Appointee Initiative. When asked whether they think most people choose to work in the government because of job security or because of a desire to help the public, 70 percent of the respondents picked job security, while only 22 percent said federal employees are working for Uncle Sam out of altruism. Sixty percent of surveyed Americans said they had a positive impression of political appointees, but nine out of 10 also said they believed appointees were driven to public service by personal ambition, such as a desire to have influence and to make important decisions. Nonetheless, three-quarters of respondents said they believed political appointees chose public service to make a difference. The 1,000 adults surveyed tended to have a positive impression of federal employees if they received good service, but their perceptions about why employees chose to work in the public sector were more cynical, according to Judith M. Labiner, the report's author and deputy director of Brookings' Center for Public Service. "The high favorability rating [for federal employees] tended to reflect respondents' beliefs that they were receiving government services, but there is also a feeling [among respondents] that most people who go into government are security cravers," Labiner said. Labiner said respondents' more favorable impression of federal employees reflected a distrust of the presidential appointments process. "There was a sense among respondents that campaign contributions play a role in the presidential appointments process," she said. Eighty-five percent of respondents believed campaign contributions play some role in determining who is selected as a political appointee. Just 18 percent of Americans surveyed thought the most qualified people are selected as appointees, while 72 percent believed political appointees are chosen because they share a President's political beliefs and/or played a role in the campaign. Survey respondents, who were split equally along gender and political party lines and represented a range of economic and educational backgrounds, were familiar with several aspects of the presidential appointments process, including the Senate's role in confirming nominees.