Poll: Americans Do Not Trust Anyone

From the National Journal:

“One year after President Obama took office, the green shoots of optimism that accompanied his inauguration are withering, pummeled by gale-force discontent and anxiety over the prolonged recession, a new Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor poll indicates.

“Despite some recent signs of economic recovery, the proportion of Americans who say that the country is moving in the wrong direction has reached its highest level since the George W. Bush era. In the latest Heartland Monitor poll, respondents expressed little trust in any institution beyond their own family to help them navigate the financial rapids–giving government, major corporations, and financial institutions all dismal grades. Only a little more than one-third of Americans predict that their personal financial situation will improve over the next year.

“And although most people still believe that Obama’s agenda will eventually benefit the country, his approval rating has fallen to 47 percent amid a widespread consensus that Washington’s response to the downturn has so far helped the wealthy and powerful more than it has average families. Shirley McCarter, a homemaker and poll respondent in Altus, Okla., encapsulated that view with a brisk verdict on the government’s agenda: “It’s not helping the little guy,” she said. “It almost seems like rewarding the people who made the bad decisions.”