Overwhelming Public Majority Says Gov. Can't Be Trusted

There was a time in this country when most people trusted the government. Prior to 1970, significant majorities said the government in Washington can be trusted most of the time while only a small minority disagreed. But those days are long passed. Distrust of the federal government has been growing since the 1970's.
And a recent survey showed that the distrust is now at an all-time high -- with only 13% of the population saying government can be trusted most of the time, and a whopping 86% saying it cannot be trusted. That is higher than in 1994 -- the previous year with the most distrust (79%) and least trust (20%).
The 2008 and 2014 figures are from CNN / ORC Polls, while the previous years are from Gallup Polls and University of Michigan surveys. The latest survey from the CNN / ORC Poll was conducted between July 18th and 20th of a random national sample of 1,012 adults, and has a margin of error of 3 points.