Today, less than one-fifth of the public trusts the federal government to do the right thing most of the time, compared to three-quarters in 1964. Of course, these figures surged occasionally during that period, such as after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks; but the overall decline is considerable.
这一低效率或许是对美国制度信心下降的原因。如今，不到五分之一的公众相信联邦政府在大部分时间里做着正确的事，而1964年的这一比例为四分之三。当然，这些数字偶尔会在某个时期出现飙升，比如2001年9月11日恐怖袭击后就是如此；但总体而言下降趋势相当明显。