Confidence in Congress Stays at Lowest Point in Almost Fifty Years

NEW YORK, May 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — The Harris Poll has been measuring the confidence of the American public in the leaders of major institutions since 1966. After seeing drops in confidence in almost all institutions last year, there is some stability this year as well as some small upward levels of confidence. However, some institutions are still at all time lows. Again this year, only 6% of all adults have a great deal of confidence in the leaders of Congress.  Only one in ten Americans (11%) again this year say they have a great deal of confidence in the press.

Based on all the responses to this poll we calculate the Harris Confidence Index. This year, the Index has gone up to 49 after falling to 48 last year, but still down from 53 in 2010 and 54 in 2009.

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,060 adults surveyed by telephone and online between April 9 and 17, 2012 by Harris Interactive.

Some of the main findings of this Harris Poll are:

• At the top of the list, i.e. the largest numbers of people have a great deal of confidence in them, are the leaders of the military (55%) and small business (50%), far ahead of any of the other leaders on the list. These numbers have not changed significantly over the last three years;
• Also high on the list, but substantially lower, are the leaders of medicine (34%), and colleges and universities (30%);
• Not quite at the bottom of the list, but below the top institutions are the U.S. Supreme Court (27%, which is up from 24% last year), organized religion (23%), the White House (22% which is up from 19% last year), and public schools (21%); and,
• At the bottom of the list, leaders in whom the public has the least confidence are Congress (6%), Wall Street (7%), the press (11%), law firms (11%), major companies (15%), organized labor (16%) television news (17%) and the courts and the justice system (19%).

So what?

While the confidence index rose one point and a couple of institutions saw small gains, very little has changed from last year. “The American public continues to be disgusted with the shenanigans of Congress and Wall Street,” says Robert Fronk, EVP Reputation Management at Harris Interactive. “Forgiveness and respect will not return easily for these two entities.” The stabilization in confidence is clearly a better outcome than the slide seen in the previous 3 years, but many of the institutions that form the backbone of our nation continue to be perceived as lacking in leadership, which does not bode well in the short term for our nation.

TABLE 1
CURRENT CONFIDENCE IN LEADERS OF INSTITUTIONS (2011)
“As far as people in charge of running (READ EACH ITEM) are concerned, would you say you have a great deal of confidence, only some confidence, or hardly any confidence at all in them?”

Base: All Adults

	A Great Deal of Confidence	Only some Confidence	Hardly Any Confidence At All	Not Sure/Decline to Answer
	%	%	%	%
The military	55	33	8	4
Small business	50	38	7	5
Medicine	34	43	18	5
Major educational institutions, such as colleges and universities	30	47	19	4
The U.S. Supreme Court	27	50	18	5
Organized religion	23	38	30	8
The White House	22	40	34	4
Public schools	21	48	27	4
The courts and the justice system	19	54	23	4
Television news	17	48	31	4
Organized labor	16	42	35	7
Major companies	15	55	25	5
Law firms	12	51	30	8
The press	11	46	39	4
Wall Street	7	39	48	6
Congress	6	42	48	4

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

TABLE 2A
CONFIDENCE IN LEADERS OF INSTITUTIONS (2001-2012)
“As far as people in charge of running (READ EACH ITEM) are concerned, would you say you have a great deal of confidence, only some confidence, or hardly any confidence at all in them?”
Those saying “A great deal of confidence”

Base: All Adults

	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	Change 2011- 2012
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
The military	44	71	62	62	47	47	46	51	58	59	57	55	-2
Small business	X	X	X	X	47	45	54	47	48	50	50	50	0
Medicine	32	29	31	32	29	31	37	28	34	34	33	34	+1
Major educational institutions such as colleges and universities	35	33	31	37	39	38	37	32	40	35	30	30	0
The U.S. Supreme Court	35	41	34	29	29	33	27	25	28	31	24	27	+3
Organized religion	25	23	19	27	27	30	27	25	30	26	24	23	-1
The White House	21	50	40	31	31	25	22	15	36	27	19	22	+3
Public schools	X	X	X	X	26	22	22	20	25	22	20	21	+1
The courts and the justice system	X	X	X	X	22	21	21	16	19	24	19	19	0
Television news	24	24	21	17	16	19	20	16	22	17	16	17	+1
Organized labor	15	11	14	15	17	12	15	11	16	14	15	16	+1
Major companies	20	16	13	12	17	13	16	14	11	15	13	15	+2
Law firms	10	13	12	10	11	10	13	10	11	13	11	12	+1
The press	13	16	15	15	12	14	12	10	12	13	11	11	0
Wall Street	23	19	12	17	15	15	17	11	4	8	7	7	0
Congress	18	22	20	13	16	10	10	8	9	8	6	6	0
The executive branch of the federal government	20	33	26	23	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
HARRIS INTERACTIVE CONFIDENCE INDEX*	55	65	57	55	53	52	53	44	54	53	48	49	+1

X = Not asked; * see methodology

Note: Prior to 2011 this survey was conducted by telephone only; the 2011 survey was conducted prior to Osama bin Laden’s death.

TABLE 2B
CONFIDENCE IN LEADERS OF INSTITUTIONS (1991-2000)
“As far as people in charge of running (READ EACH ITEM) are concerned, would you say you have a great deal of confidence, only some confidence, or hardly any confidence at all in them?”
Those saying “a great deal of confidence”

Base: All Adults

	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
The military	X	50	57	39	43	47	37	44	54	48
Small business	47	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Medicine	23	22	22	23	26	29	29	38	39	44
Major educational institutions such as colleges and universities	X	29	23	25	27	30	27	37	37	36
The U.S. Supreme Court	15	30	26	31	32	31	28	37	42	34
Organized religion	21	11	X	X	24	X	20	25	27	26
The White House	X	25	23	18	13	15	15	20	22	21
Public schools	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
The courts and the justice system	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Television news	9	12	23	20	16	21	18	26	23	20
Organized labor	21	11	X	X	8	X	9	13	15	15
Major companies	20	10	16	19	21	21	18	21	23	28
Law firms	X	13	11	8	9	11	7	11	10	12
The press	X	X	15	13	11	14	11	14	15	13
Wall Street	14	13	13	15	13	17	17	18	30	30
Congress	9	16	12	8	10	10	11	12	12	15
The executive branch of the federal government	X	X	15	12	9	12	12	17	17	18
HARRIS INTERACTIVE CONFIDENCE INDEX*	45	45	47	43	43	47	42	54	60	59

X = Not asked; * see methodology

TABLE 2C
CONFIDENCE IN LEADERS OF INSTITUTIONS (1981-1990)
“As far as people in charge of running (READ EACH ITEM) are concerned, would you say you have a great deal of confidence, only some confidence, or hardly any confidence at all in them?”
Those saying “a great deal of confidence”

Base: All Adults

	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Small business	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
The military	28	31	35	45	32	36	35	33	32	43
Medicine	37	32	35	43	39	33	36	40	30	35
Major educational institutions such as colleges & universities	34	30	36	40	35	34	36	34	32	35
The U.S. Supreme Court	29	25	33	35	28	32	30	32	28	32
Organized religion	22	20	22	24	21	22	16	17	16	20
The White House	28	20	23	42	30	19	23	17	20	14
Public Schools	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
The courts and justice system	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Television news	24	24	24	28	23	27	29	28	25	27
Organized labor	12	8	10	12	13	11	11	13	10	18
Major companies	16	18	18	19	17	16	21	19	16	9
Law firms	X	X	12	17	12	14	15	13	X	X
The press	16	14	19	18	16	19	19	18	18	12
Wall Street	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	8	21
Congress	16	13	20	28	16	21	20	15	16	14
The executive branch of the federal government	24	X	X	X	19	18	19	16	17	14
HARRIS INTERACTIVE CONFIDENCE INDEX*	51	46	53	63	51	51	53	50	46	50

X = Not asked; * see methodology

TABLE 2D
CONFIDENCE IN LEADERS OF INSTITUTIONS (1966-1980)
“As far as people in charge of running (READ EACH ITEM) are concerned, would you say you have a great deal of confidence, only some confidence, or hardly any confidence at all in them?”
Those saying “a great deal of confidence”

Base: All Adults

	1966	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
The military	61	27	35	40	33	24	23	27	29	29	28
Small business	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Medicine	73	61	48	57	50	43	42	43	42	30	34
Major educational institutions such as colleges & universities	61	37	33	44	40	36	31	37	41	33	36
The U.S. Supreme Court	50	23	28	33	40	28	22	29	29	28	27
Organized religion	41	27	30	36	32	32	24	29	24	20	22
The White House	X	X	X	18	28	X	11	31	14	15	18
Public schools	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
The courts and justice system	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Television news	X	X	X	41	31	35	28	28	35	37	29
Organized labor	22	14	15	20	18	14	10	14	15	10	14
Major companies	55	27	27	29	21	19	16	20	22	18	16
Law firms	X	X	X	24	18	16	12	14	18	16	13
The press	29	18	18	30	25	26	20	18	23	28	19
Wall Street	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	12
Congress	42	19	21	X	18	13	9	17	10	18	18
The executive branch of the federal government	41	23	27	19	28	13	11	23	14	17	17
HARRIS INTERACTIVE CONFIDENCE INDEX*	100	58	59	69	64	55	44	55	55	50	49

X = Not asked; * see methodology

TABLE 3
CONFIDENCE IN INSTITUTIONS; AVERAGE FOR INDEX IN EACH DECADE

	1960s		1970s		1980s		1990s		2000s		2010s
					1980	49	1990	50	2000	59	2010	53
			1971	58	1981	51	1991	45	2001	55	2011	48
			1972	59	1982	46	1992	45	2002	65	2012	49
			1973	69	1983	53	1993	47	2003*	57
			1974	64	1984	63	1994	43	2004	55
			1975	55	1985	51	1995	43	2005	53
	1966	100	1976	44	1986	51	1996	47	2006	52
			1977	55	1987	53	1997	42	2007	53
			1978	55	1988	50	1998	54	2008	44
			1979	50	1989	46	1999	60	2009	54
AVERAGE FOR DECADE	100		57		51		48		55		50

*Completed in December 2002

TABLE 4
CONFIDENCE LEVELS – BY PARTY
“As far as people in charge of running … are concerned, would you say you have a great deal of confidence, only some confidence, or hardly any confidence at all in them?”
Those saying “a great deal of confidence”

Base: All Adults

	Total	Party ID
		Republican	Democrat	Independent
	%	%	%	%
The military	55	65	52	55
Small business	50	58	43	55
Medicine	34	33	39	33
Major educational institutions, such as colleges and universities	30	25	37	26
The U.S. Supreme Court	27	29	25	28
Organized religion	23	33	22	18
The White House	22	6	39	16
Public schools	21	16	29	21
The courts and the justice system	19	20	23	17
Television news	17	10	25	14
Organized labor	16	7	26	14
Major companies	15	19	12	15
Law firms	12	10	17	9
The press	11	5	17	10
Wall Street	7	6	7	7
Congress	6	5	8	5

Methodology

The Harris Poll^® was conducted by telephone and online, within the United States between April 9 and 17, 2012 among a nationwide cross section of 2,060 adults (aged 18 and over). The interviews conducted by telephone (1016) included a nationwide cross section of adults with landlines in their households.  The interviews conducted online (1044) included a nationwide sample who have agreed to take part in Harris Interactive surveys, and who indicated not having a landline (i.e., cell phone only), or using their cell phone for almost all of their calls (cell phone mostly), and thus were included to ensure representation of these groups that are lacking among a traditional RDD telephone sample.  Telephone data only were adjusted to ensure appropriate representation on number of telephone/voice lines and number of adults in the household, and online data only were are adjusted by propensity to be online to correct for attitudinal/behavioral differences between our panel and those who respond via phone.  Finally, for the combined telephone and online data, figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region, household income, and phone status (cell phone only, cell phone mostly, dual users, landline mostly, landline only) were adjusted as necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population.  Population proportions for demographic variables were acquired from the 2010 Current Population Survey, while phone status proportions were acquired from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words “margin of error” as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

The Harris Interactive Confidence in Leadership Index measures changes in the public’s confidence in various institutions. It is derived in the following manner:

1. The index is based on the mean value of the items asked.
2. All items have equal weight.
3. The year 1966, the first year the items were asked, was set as a reference year for the index and assigned a score of 100.
4. In order to yield a score of 100 in 1966, the mean value of the original 10 items was multiplied by a factor of 2.11. This same factor was then applied to the mean score in subsequent years, as long as the same items were asked.
5. Whenever a new item is added, the multiplication factor is changed so that the new item has no effect on that year’s score. The new factor is derived by calculating the index with and without the new item(s), taking the ratio of the two scores, and multiplying this ratio by the old factor. (The current factor is 2.14).
6. In years when an item included in a previous year is not asked, it is assumed for calculation purposes that no change has occurred in that item since the last time it was asked.