Government at all Levels- Federal, State, and Local- Vies for ConfidenceCalifornia 2009 Civic Health IndexNovember 24, 2009
This dwindling confidence in civic institutions is not consistent across every group in the state, however. Instead, it appears to vary dramatically according to race, income—and even proximity to the institution. The national study, for example, finds that African Americans across the country are much more likely to have some level of trust in the federal government (40%) than whites (22%). And yet that institutional trust largely evaporates at the local level, where only 15% of African Americans say they have a great deal of confidence in small business, compared to 36% of whites.25 In California, where African Americans are a relatively small minority compared with Hispanics, the relationship between trust and proximity appears to be even more nuanced. Across the state, 32% of all respondents said they had confidence in local government to do what is right “just about always” or “most of the time,” compared to only 29% who felt the same way about the federal government. Those views were different among different ethnic groups, however. While 48% of African Americans say they trust the government in Washington to do what is right, only 22% of whites say the same. Hispanics fall between the two groups, with 35% saying they trust the federal government most or all of the time.26 Given the political gridlock that has dominated Sacramento for the last several years, it is not surprising that confidence is dwindling in state government regardless of race. Only 22% of respondents overall say they had a great deal of confidence in the state government. More than one in ten whites say they “never” trust the state government to do what is right, while 15% of African Americans and 16% of Hispanics agree.27 Local government, meanwhile, seems to earn substantially more trust from minorities in California than it does at the national level. Only 24% of whites say they trust local government to do the right thing most of the time or just about always. Nearly 35% of African Americans and Hispanics have the same confidence in local officials.28 Like race, household income also seems to have a dramatic impact on confidence in government. While the level of trust in the federal government is relatively similar regardless of income, confidence in local government varies more widely. More than 10% of those making less than $20,000 annually say local government should “never” be trusted to do the right thing, with just over one in four saying local government does the right thing “most of the time” or “just about always.” Those in the highest income brackets—who presumably have more access to government officials—are not nearly so skeptical. Of those who earn more than $100,000 annually, 7% say local government can “never” be trusted to do the right thing, while 34% say local officials do get it right most of the time.29 If you like this kind of content, sign up for an NCoC.net account and we'll customize your homepage recommendations based on your interests..
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