Harvard University. Credit: Amanda Art/Metro file photo
A series of findings from a new Harvard poll have found that young Americans have little trust in the federal government.
The youth poll findings, which were released on Tuesday by the Harvard Political Review, were part of the spring 2014 Harvard Public Opinion Project. The poll results ranged from international affairs to marijuana legalization.
Among the findings were that Americans between 18 and 29 years old trusted the federal government and Congress less so than the Supreme Court of the president. Less than 3 percent of those surveyed said they trusted the federal government “all of the time.” Eighty percent said they trusted it “some of the time” or “never.” Specifically, Congress did worse with 84 percent saying they trusted the legislative branch “some of the time” or “never.” Meanwhile, about 33 percent said they trusted the president “most” or “all of the time” and 36 percent said they felt the same way about the Supreme Court.
What’s more, another analysis found that the level of trust in government varied by income level. About 19 percent of young Americans who make less than $50,000 a year trust the federal government to do the right thing most or all of the time. That number was lower than those reported from income brackets.
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