60 Percent of Voters: Feds Primarily Look Out for Own Interests

Sixty percent of voters believe that the federal government today primarily looks out for its own interests. A ScottRasmussen.com national survey found that 27 percent believe it primarily serves the interests of the American people. Thirteen percent are not sure. [1]

Voters under 35 are a bit more confident in the federal government than their elders.

Among these young voters, 36 percent believe it primarily serves the interests of the American people. Among those over 50, 22 percent share that assessment.

Sixty-three percent of men believe the government looks out primarily for itself. So do 57 percent of women.

Regular tracking shows that only about one out of six voters trust the federal government to do the right thing most of the time. An earlier Number of the Day noted that it’s been nearly half a century since a majority of voters trusted the federal government.

The majority of Americans alive today cannot remember such a time.

Scott Rasmussen’s latest book argues that the ongoing distrust of the federal government is directly related to the growth of the regulatory state. The number of regulators and regulatory budgets have grown in size enormously over the past four decades.

Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology. Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.

Scott Rasmussen is founder and president of the Rasmussen Media Group. He is the author of "Mad as Hell: How the Tea Party Movement Is Fundamentally Remaking Our Two-Party System," "In Search of Self-Governance," and "The People’s Money: How Voters Will Balance the Budget and Eliminate the Federal Debt." Read more reports from Scott Rasmussen — Click Here Now.