Trust: The Facts

clipped from www.forbes.com In 1943 nearly half of those surveyed, 48%, told interviewers in a poll conducted by the National Opinion Research Center that it was almost impossible for a man to stay honest if he goes into politics. Has anything changed? Well the people's trust in politicians has deteriorated further. More than 50 years later, in a poll taken in 1997 by Fox News and Opinion Dynamics, 55% agreed that people who go into politics cannot remain honest. A 2006 ABC News/Washington Post poll found that a bare majority, 52%, said most members of Congress had about the same amount of honesty as most people, but 44% said they were more dishonest. In 2010 55% told Gallup interviewers that the honesty and ethical standards of members of Congress were low or very low, the only time a majority has given that response since the question was asked first in 1976. Only 9% described them as high.