A New Report Card For Our Government- Stay After School

If my kids would have brought home a report card like that reported in a recent Washington Post/Kaiser Foundation/Harvard University Poll evaluating the consumer perspective of the federal government we would have had a nice long chat. Not surprisingly, we don’t think our government is working very well- and the report card reflects it. This poll was conducted between September 22 and October 3, 2010 and included a representative sample of 2,054 adults over the age of 18. We’ve posted the survey results in our library if you want to dig into the numbers further.

Here’s how we graded our government:

The Military= B+

Our Own Representatives in Congress= C

The Federal Court System= C

President Obama= C

Democrats in Congress= C-

Federal Government in General= D+

Republicans in Congress= D+

Not a report card to be proud of (except the Military where I am extremely proud)

This is no surprise. Our economy remains very fragile and the unemployment created as a result of the Recession of 2008 remains too high. This recession hit hard at a very personal level to millions of Americans. The basic question we are struggling with is how much can or should the government be involved to fix the systemic problem we have created.

While we are stuck in polarizing politics (which will get even worse with the upcoming mid-term elections), nearly 80% of Americans feel our government can be run well. However, most feel it is currently dominated by special interests with a lot of money looking out only for themselves as opposed to the good of society in general.

Economists and citizens are statistically split between increasing government spending (50%) and avoiding deficits (46%) as components of the economic strategies necessary to dig out of the mess we are in. This will continue to be debated and studied for years in the future.

Almost all agree we are not getting the value out of the tax dollars we contribute to make our government work.

When asked whether the government actions threaten our personal rights and freedoms we are surprisingly at the same level we were at in 2000- before 9/11. Fifty-two percent of Americans feel the federal government interventions are not a threat to liberty and personal freedoms both in 2000 and in 2010. But, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck and others are making inroads arguing otherwise.

Health care continues to be a primary item of uncertainty for most Americans. While they are skittish about the impact health care reform most remain uncertain and confused by the impact the PPACA will have on their lives.

These results are another indication that we have a long ways to go as a country. However, most Americans still believe that by working together and eliminating the self-interests dominating our political processes today we can make it work. Congress has a long road to climb to get Americans on board. It may take a change in the seating arrangement after the November election as part of the process. Either way, they are going to have to stay after school for quite awhile to improve on the grades they have today.