Robert W. McGee (Fayetteville State): Has Confidence in the Government of the United States Changed Over the Years? A Longitudinal Study; and How Much Do Americans Trust Their Government? An Empirical Study. Lawrence H. Summers on why Americans don’t trust government: We seem to be caught in a dismal cycle of low expectations, poor results and shared cynicism. Kevin Drum on two big trends that might explain a pissed-off electorate. People are angry, but about politics, not the economy. The first chapter from Democracy for Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive Government by Christopher H. Achen and Larry M. Bartels. Against anti-politics: Michael Lind on why technocracy and populism are dead ends. Stop crying about the size of government — start caring about who controls it. Want a leaner federal government? Hire more federal workers.
