Also, for the first time since Gallup started asking the question a decade ago, a majority of Americans say they are dissatisfied with our system of government and how well it works.
Back in January 2001, 68 percent of Americans told Gallup they were satisfied with our system of government and how well it works, while 30 percent said they were dissatisfied. This January, only 42 percent said they were satisfied with our system of government and how it works, while 56 percent said they were dissatisfied.
The percentage of Americans who said they were satisfied with our system of government and how it works peaked at 76 percent in January 2002—four months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
From Jan. 7-9 of this year, Gallup polled 1,018 American adults, asking them if they were very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied with seven aspects of American life. These included the overall quality of life, our system of government and how well it works, the size and power of the federal government, the nation's moral and ethical climate, the opportunity for a person to get ahead by working hard, the size and influence of major corporations, and the influence of organized religion.
In response to these questions, a majority of Americans expressed a generally conservative perspective.
Overall, only 31 percent said that they were satisfied with the size and power of the federal government (with 5 percent saying they were very satisfied and 26 percent saying they were somewhat satisfied). By contrast, 67 percent said they were dissatisfied with the size and power of the federal government.
Since January 2002, there has been almost an inversion in the public opinion on this question. Back then, 60 percent said they were satisfied with the size and power of the federal government, while 39 percent said they were dissatisfied.
The greatest public dissatisfaction, however, is with the moral and ethical climate of the country. Today, 69 percent of Americans say they are dissatisfied with that climate, while 30 percent say they are satisfied.
There has been a ten-point shift on this question over the past three years. In January 2008, the last time Gallup asked the question, 59 percent of Americans said they were dissatisfied with the moral and ethical climate of the country, while 39 percent said they were satisfied.
Over the decade-long period that Gallup has asked people whether they were satisfied with the moral and ethical climate of the country, the highest level of satisfaction was registered in January 2002, when 47 percent said they were satisfied with the moral and ethical climate of the country and 52 percent said they were dissatisfied.
At no time in Gallup’s polling on the question has a majority of Americans said they were satisfied with the nation’s moral and ethical climate.
In the most recent poll, 55 percent said they were satisfied with the opportunity for a person to get ahead by working hard, while 44 percent said they were dissatisfied. Three years ago, in January 2008, when George W. Bush was still president, 68 percent said they were satisfied with the opportunity for a person to get ahead by working hard, while 31 percent said they were dissatisfied.
Only 29 percent told Gallup this January that they were satisfied with the size and influence of major corporations, while 67 percent said they were dissatisfied. Satisfaction with the size and influence of major corporations peaked in January 2002, when 50 percent said they were satisfied and 47 percent said they were not. That is the only time in 10 years of polling that public satisfaction with the size and influence of major corporations hit 50 percent.
By contrast, 58 percent of Americans told Gallup this January that they are satisfied with the influence of organized religion, while 36 percent said they were dissatisfied. Satisfaction with the influence of organized religion peaked in January 2002, when 69 percent said they were satisfied with it and 28 percent said they were not.
