The ANES Guide to Public Opinion and Electoral Behavior
Trust the Federal Government 1958-2012
| '58 | '60 | '62 | '64 | '66 | '68 | '70 | '72 | '74 | '76 | '78 | '80 | '82 | '84 | '86 | '88 | '90 | '92 | '94 | '96 | '98 | '00 | '02 | '04 | '08 | '12 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| None of the Time (vol.) | 0 (0) |
** | ** | 0 (1) |
2 (32) |
0 (2) |
0 (4) |
1 (13) |
1 (30) |
1 (35) |
4 (92) |
4 (64) |
2 (35) |
1 (23) |
2 (25) |
2 (43) |
2 (37) |
2 (43) |
3 (57) |
1 (11) |
1 (19) |
1 (13) |
0 (5) |
1 (13) |
2 (19) |
2 (53) |
| Some of the Time | 23 (416) |
** | ** | 22 (316) |
28 (363) |
36 (486) |
44 (662) |
44 (1010) |
61 (1512) |
62 (1775) |
64 (1458) |
69 (1107) |
62 (868) |
53 (1015) |
57 (621) |
56 (985) |
69 (1348) |
68 (1530) |
74 (1312) |
66 (990) |
58 (741) |
55 (842) |
44 (580) |
52 (552) |
68 (716) |
76 (2255) |
| Most of the Time | 57 (1013) |
** | ** | 62 (900) |
48 (619) |
54 (724) |
47 (708) |
48 (1089) |
34 (839) |
30 (854) |
27 (608) |
23 (372) |
31 (436) |
40 (776) |
35 (381) |
36 (645) |
25 (492) |
26 (581) |
19 (342) |
30 (453) |
36 (466) |
40 (610) |
51 (665) |
43 (454) |
25 (267) |
20 (585) |
| Just About Always | 16 (282) |
** | ** | 14 (207) |
17 (217) |
7 (98) |
6 (97) |
5 (120) |
2 (62) |
3 (99) |
2 (57) |
2 (33) |
2 (22) |
4 (70) |
3 (35) |
4 (74) |
3 (57) |
3 (71) |
2 (43) |
3 (40) |
4 (45) |
4 (67) |
5 (62) |
4 (38) |
5 (55) |
2 (71) |
| Don't Know, Depends | 4 (63) |
** | ** | 1 (21) |
4 (54) |
2 (27) |
2 (26) |
2 (47) |
2 (56) |
3 (98) |
3 (73) |
2 (30) |
3 (40) |
2 (37) |
2 (19) |
1 (21) |
1 (29) |
1 (23) |
1 (14) |
0 (2) |
1 (7) |
1 (9) |
0 (0) |
0 (5) |
0 (1) |
0 (8) |
| N | 1774 | 0 | 0 | 1445 | 1285 | 1337 | 1497 | 2279 | 2499 | 2861 | 2288 | 1606 | 1401 | 1921 | 1081 | 1768 | 1963 | 2248 | 1768 | 1496 | 1278 | 1541 | 1312 | 1062 | 1058 | 2972 |
Percentage Within Study Year
Table 5A.1.
Question Text:
""How much of the time do you think you can trust the government in Washington to do what is right-- just about always, most of the time or only some of the time?"
Percent among demographic groups who responded:
Some of the Time/ None of the Time
Most of the Time/ Just About Always
Note:
2012 data are for the combined (face-to-face and internet) sample.
For 2012, the 'Don't Know/Other' category represents face-to-face Don't Know cases only (in the 2012 Web instrument, a Don't Know category was not present).
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