very four years, presidential elections provide an opportunity for the public to think again about the American democratic experiment. Some issues are new, but many others are long-standing. One topic already generating considerable political heat this year is a familiar one. Simply put, it is the role people want the government in Washington to play in their lives. The debate this year could be sharper than usual.
Poll after poll underscores deep skepticism about the federal government's performance, which did not diminish when the Republicans took control of Congress. In November 1995, for example, the Times Mirror Center for the People & the Press found that 63 percent of Americans agreed that "government is almost always wasteful and inefficient." Only one third said that government often does a better job than people give it credit for. The intensity of feeling on this question is worth noting. A majority, 53 percent, agreed strongly with the view of government as wasteful and inefficient. In a Yankelovich Partners poll for Time and CNN in November, 55 percent of those surveyed agreed that "the federal government has become so large and powerful that it poses a threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens." Fewer than 4 in 10 disagreed. When asked by Times Mirror about the biggest threat to "people like yourself" in the future, 50 percent said it would come from government, 15 percent the news media, 13 percent said business, 8 percent said Wall Street banks and investment companies and 5 percent said the entertainment industry.
Specific questions about government don't provide as negative a picture. In April 1983, for example, 50 percent of those surveyed by Roper Starch Worldwide expressed favorable views of most federal government agencies, and 43 percent expressed unfavorable views. In August 1995, the last time the organization posed the question, 51 percent had favorable views and 41 percent had unfavorable views. Americans rank some federal agencies and departments more highly than others, but in many cases, the ranking is a function of familiarity or name recognition. Most people report that their personal dealings with agencies are generally positive.
In polling over the last two decades, negative impressions of Washington have outweighed positive views of agencies. The public has told the pollsters they want a smaller government with fewer services and lower taxes. Yet, polls show, Americans are not reflexively anti-government. The Times Mirror poll that showed such suspicion of government found that 78 percent agreed that the government should play an active role in improving health care, housing and education for middle income families. Survey after survey shows people think government should help those who can't help themselves. Democratic campaigns this year will echo themes heard throughout the summer and fall of 1995, when surveys showed public concerns that the Republicans were going too far in cutting government services. A clear majority, 57 percent, in a Gallup November poll said the Republican proposals to cut spending were going too far. Thirty-six percent said they were not going too far. Yankelovich Partners, in an early December poll for Time and CNN, posed its question differently and found that 47 percent said the cuts proposed by the Republicans have gone too far, 27 percent said they were about right, and 19 percent said they had not gone far enough.
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