Why It’s So Hard to Build Trust In Government

Lee Drutman reviewed Amy E. Lerman’s new book, Good Enough for Government Work, for Washington Monthly.

Lerman’s research shows that when respondents are given information about garbage collection, emergency medical services, and prisons and told that the services are of high quality, they are considerably more likely to conclude that the services are provided privately. When they are told about the same services but told they are of low quality, they are more likely to conclude that they are provided publicly.

Thus, government programs and their supporters today face a dual challenge in winning public opinion. Not only do they have to deliver high-quality services. They also have to convince people that those high-quality services—like Medicare—are, in fact, provided by the government.

Unfortunately, misperceptions about what the government provides are widespread. Lerman cites the important work of political scientist Suzanne Mettler, who has found that more than half of Americans (56.5 percent) say they have not used a public social program. Most are mistaken. As Mettler documents, 44 percent of people who received Social Security and 40 percent of people who used Medicare said they “have never used a government social program.” The fact that they are either unaware or unwilling to admit that they had is remarkable.