Report: Majority Of Government Doesn't Trust Citizens Either

That's the title of a piece by The Onion.

It's a nice turn on a phrase, expressing a very popular sentiment about Congress. But at least half tongue-in-cheek, it reflects a popular sentiment within Congress-- that many/all individuals are not to be trusted with a number of our liberties and much of our money. (Moreover, they don't trust state and local governments to take care of things for which one might argue for a role for the government.)

The title alone is worth a post, but here are a few excerpts from the "story"...

At a time when widespread polling data suggests that a majority of the U.S. populace no longer trusts the federal government, a Pew Research Center report has found that the vast majority of the federal government doesn't trust the U.S. populace all that much either.

According to the poll—which surveyed members of the judicial, legislative, and executive branches—9 out of 10 government officials reported feeling "disillusioned" by the populace and claimed to have "completely lost confidence" in the citizenry's ability to act in the nation's best interests.

"All the vitriol and partisan bickering in Congress has caused most Americans to form negative opinions of the U.S. government," Pew researcher Amy Ratner said. "However, over the same time period, the government has likewise grown wary of U.S. citizens, largely due to their utter lack of foresight, laziness, and overall incompetence."

Added Ratner, "And the fact that American Idol is still the No. 1 show on television doesn't exactly make our government burst with confidence."...

Ninety-one percent of all government officials polled said they find citizens to be every bit as irresponsible, greedy, irrational, and selfishly motivated as government officials are...