Alienated nation: Americans complain of government disconnect

CBS/iStockphoto

Americans see their leaders in Washington as overpaid agents of wealthy individuals and corporations who are largely disconnected from the concerns of average Americans.

Don't take my word for it: For our series "United States of Influence," which debuts today, CBS News asked Americans why they are so constantly frustrated with the men and women charged with representing them. (Read more about the series)

Their responses were striking, though their frustration is not new. Seven in ten said people like them have little say in what their government does; eight in ten said most members of Congress are primarily interested in serving special interests, not the people they ostensibly represent. (Read the full poll)

Two in three - including nearly half of Republicans - say the rich benefit most from the federal government's policies. More than seven in ten say special interest groups and large corporations have too much influence on American life. Nearly the same percentage says the salaries and benefits of most members of Congress are too high.

It adds up to the fact that most Americans feel alienated from their political leaders and dissatisfied or angry with Washington.

CBS News polls over the last two decades suggest that the American people have long been frustrated with their leaders, though their sense of alienation has ticked up in recent years. And the consistency of their outlook arguably only makes the situation more dispiriting. Instead of a spike in frustration grounded from a specific event - Watergate, the Keating Five scandal, Bill Clinton's Oval Office indiscretions - Americans have settled into a sustained aversion to their own government.

CBS

Let's look at the numbers. The poll found that just 13 percent of Americans feel representatives in Congress are primarily interested in serving the people they represent, while 80 percent believe members are primarily interested in serving special interest groups. While that perception is longstanding, it has worsened since 1990, when 20 percent said members seek to serve their constituents and 71 percent said they seek to serve special interests.

Similarly, Americans have long felt they have little say in government. But the trends are troubling: While 58 percent said they have little say in what government does in 1990, that figure has risen to 69 percent today. In the new survey, 85 percent say that people like them had too little influence on American life.

CBS

Whose voice do Americans believe is being heard in Washington? That of large corporations and special interest groups. Seventy-five percent said the former has too much influence, and seventy-one percent said the latter did. By contrast, just 36 percent said labor unions had too much influence, while 30 percent said unions have too little influence.

Asked specifically about two organizations - the National Rifle Association and Planned Parenthood - Americans were split. Twenty-eight percent said the NRA has too much influence, while 17 percent said it has too little. Planned Parenthood is seen as underrepresented in Washington, with 22 percent saying it has too much influence and 30 percent saying it has too little.

CBS

Perhaps the most striking poll finding is that a wide swath of Americans sees the rich - not the middle class or poor - as benefiting most from federal government policies. Sixty-six percent said the rich benefit most, and it wasn't just Democrats: 67 percent of independents, 44 percent of Republicans and 43 percent of Tea Partiers said as much.

By contrast, just 12 percent said the poor benefit most - including just 30 percent of Republicans and 26 percent of Tea Partiers. And only four percent said the middle class gets the most from the federal government.

Read the full poll

The explanation for Americans' alienation from their elected leaders is not simple. But these findings suggest that much of their frustration is driven in large part by the role that money plays in the political process. The United States of Influence series is designed to help people better understand that role.

In addition to this story, there will be two installments in the series this week: The first, on Wednesday, will look at the career of New York Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer, who has maintained a reputation as a liberal lion even as he has been a strong ally of Wall Street. And the second, on Thursday, will examine why members of Congress are so much wealthier than the average American. The series will then continue in regular installments throughout the year.

Below, Brian Montopoli and CBS News' manager of surveys Jennifer De Pinto discuss the results of the poll:

CBS News Poll analysis by Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto. This poll was conducted by telephone from May 20-23, 2011, among 1,020 adults nationwide. The margin of error on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups is higher.

[oldcattracker]

With the power that the boob tube has over peoples thoughts and creating somewhat mass hypnosis through its use, and the wealth so concentrated, peoples very thoughts are bought and paid for.

[Ebon_Watchmen]

We need to take the "Money" out of running our goverment. why can we not get some true reform in running for office.No personal or Corprate donations allowed (or use of your own money for ads/air time).Maybe some kind of public fund for each campaign that anyone can access. If you get enough local signatures to get your name on the ballot you get access to the fund or free air time in equal amounts for all political campaigns. Shorten the Campaign "season" while we are at so the people that we put in office can work on the country rather then their campaign. Lower salary for all branches of goverment. Lets get the people in office that want to be there to help run the country, not the ones that want to get rich doing it.
Also corporations should not be allowed to have direct influence on our goverment through lobby and special intrest groups. It's a direct conflict of intrest to have the entity that gains an advantage from a law helping make it. We also really need a Line item veto to help get rid of pork barrel spending.
Also Reports to the public on a more regular basis about what congress/house are working on IN PLAIN LANGUAGE AND IN DETAIL say a monthly report. So we can keep better informed on whats going on.
I know that there are a lot of ways that these things won't work well,right away and probably consequences I have not thought of in the application of some of them.I belive the general principal stands take the money out of bieng in goverment.Allow people who do not make millions of dollars to get into the top positions in goverment get some new ideas going because the stuff thats been going on for the last 30 years or so is obviously not working well.

[commenter777]

Hunger is very much more motivating than greed. If human beings get hungry enough
they turn into tigers of humanity with a vast will and motivation to stay alive,
historically turning to cannabilism. I was walking down the street in our nations
capital during lunch and heard what sounded like vast sucking jet engines. I looked
into a ritzy restaurant thru the front window. The loud sound that sounded like jet
engines was actually a group of republican senators and some of their ultra-rich
republican and tea-party owners sucking vast amounts of caviar and very expensive
wines down their greedy, ravenous, cavernous, unquenchable pieholes. On the other side of
the street sat a contemporary ex-middle-class american family who had nothing to eat and
were homeless because of the fraud perpetrated by some more of the ultra-rich champions
of our perfect unregulated capitalism, the unregulated tigers of the banking establishment
of this once great country of ours. Totally open unregulated greed is perfect for a newly developing
country like China, but it is destroying the US. Bush tax cuts? Corporations pay
no taxes due to loopholes, then the corp execs get multi-million dollar bonuses? Without a
total paradigm change unregulated capitalism will suck the life out of itself especially
in the case of the US due to rampant unfettered corruption by the nation's most fortunate.
Why is it that the rich banker's illegal mortgage activities that caused our nation's demise are not
being prosecuted? It is because they own not only our politicians but the ultra-rich
own our countries judicial system. The prosecutors and judges are afraid of the ultra-rich
due to the vast power and influence of the ultra-rich. Everyone knows you get the justice
you pay for in the land of the free. If you want your share of justice and freedom you
better have the money to pay for it. The US has the highest incarceration rates of any
developed country and very very few of the imprisoned are rich. Watch the 2010 Academy
Award winning documentary "Inside Job". Now we know that a large number of corporate
ultra-rich can legally steal from the rest of us and get away with it simply because they have
money enough to buy the politicians and the whole system. JustUs rich folks. The middle-class
gets no welfare. The ultra-rich get much more welfare than the lower-class it's just named something
different like, "bush tax cuts" or "corporate tax loopholes". The top 1% of the
population owns 90% of everything now. All too soon the top 1% will own 99.9% of everything
and it will be too late to stop them. Let's re-distribute some wealth. Re-distribute is not
a dirty word. It's the only thing that will fix this country. Please vote democratic and
let's fix this mess.

[bsvitamins1]

i think that for once CBS says it best in this artical. The republicans fair best they have money in oil & Corp America & Special intrest.

So Keep them out of Office and let the little guy win for once!!!!

[outsource_congress]

According to the polls and every comment on this article, the vast majority of Americans believe our government is corrupt to the core. Never at any time anywhere in world history have the rich and powerful willingly surrendered their death grip over the socieities which they ruled.

Thanks to our Founding Fathers, we already have a blue print for how to solve this problem.

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of tyrants and patriots."

Until we are willing to take the necessary steps to recapture our freedoms and right to self-governance, nothing will change.

[paulstewart9]

You say "The explanation for Americans' alienation from their elected leaders is not simple." I disagree. It is quite simple. Americans don't like government that is not about them. And government is definately not about the middle class, which is the majority in America. China has had the same issue. The Chinese people are proud of their country, but they don't believe in their government, they just bear it. That has been the case historically. Ironically, China's government is now moving to gain the respect and popular support of its people while America is moving away. China's politicians have had a monopoly, whereas America's have a duopoly. And therein lies the problem. There is no political competition except between two extreme ideologies to the point where it has become "idiotology". And the charades that go on all the time and that assume that the average American will not understand that its all gamesmanship. Such as we are witnessing with the government funding crisis.

[Windemere1]

People here wonder why our politicians only play to party lines; just look at these posts dems name calling trying to prove repubs wrong and the repubs trying to do the same to the dems. Our politicians are no different than us, the average citizen. If your poor you vote in the guy that will give you money, just like a politician helping out a contributor to his campaign. If your richer then you vote in the guy that will best maintain your ability to keep your income and more of it, just like a politician helping out a contributor to his campaign.
So in reality our politicians are nothing but a mirror reflecting back the image of american citizens.

I have seen only one reasonable solution proposed here all the rest weren't about making the United States better but more about taking something away from someone else because of envy. Federal sales tax would be the most fair, and as far as a burden to the poor well maybe they should have more of the burden they are imposing on the 50% of the population that does pay taxes, but if you are that concerned then cut the food tax rate in half for those using food stamps. Cash assistance, first to get the money you need to submit to a drug test just like any employee at any company, our military and athletes, there is complete precidence for this and should be required. Looking around rural areas you will find many people on welfare due to lack of work and yet you will also find four wheelers, dirt bikes, modified trucks and so on, my contention is that if you can afford these toys you can also afford to provide more of your own support. So in each case the items should be counted as wealth and applied to their ability to receive cash assistance.

If you are wealthy and retire with a great union pension or a CEO golden parachute then you do not qualify for SS or medicare and I don't care how much you paid in, youi don't need it, I have seen way too many "elderly" driving around in $500,000 motor homes, running away from winter to their second home in the Bahamas or other resort area all the while complaining they did not get an increase in their SS this year or having to pay more of their medical premiums. TS; you don't need it, consider it your contribution to social justice.

What it all comes down to is that if you want to see a change in Washington then look to change the citizens first because Washington is just a reflection of our society.

[bsvitamins1]

But the rich only use their money to put the wrong people in the White House IE Bush, Regan though he did some good then another bush that didn't learn from dads mistakes and put us in a war that we didn't need and now we are paying for it. We only needed to get bin-laudin but should have left the others alone.

[bcerentano]

Yes, they feel a government disconnect but, at election time they'll vote the same people into office. Everyone loves to gripe and complain. They all want something done about it... they just want someone else to do it. They don't want the inconvenience of having to do it themselves.

Take control and get our jobs back NOW. AmericanBoycott.com

[notyrants]

Mortarman429 June 29, 2011 10:02 AM EDT
What a CEO is paid is NONE of your business!! If a business wants to pay money out of its pocket for a CEO, the amount of money they pay is none of your business. It is ONLY the business of those who own the business and that CEO.
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It is none of your business oh peasantry what the King does with the kingdom's money. You will obey and follow the rules the king has established for you to follow or you will be executed or banned to remain in this kingdom.

[notyrants]

Mortarman429 June 29, 2011 10:01 AM EDT
Democracy?

Fairness Doctrine?

What a laugh. First of all, we dont have a democracy and dont want one!! Democracy is the WORST form of government!!!
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In summary, you are against the United States of America and its founding constitution that was drafted as a nation of the people to be ruled not by a king. Since you HATE democracy and deem it the worst form of government, it's clearly surmised that you would prefer a king or dictator to rule with totalitarian order. You are a threat to the United States and it's founding principles.