For the past seven years, a period covering the final two years of the Bush administration and President Obama’s first term, no more than about three-in-ten Americans have said they trust the federal government to do the right thing always or most of the time.

Our Jan. 2013 survey found only 26% saying they can trust government always or most of the time, while 73% say they can trust the government only some of the time or never. Majorities across all partisan and demographic groups express little or no trust in government. However, there are disparities: more than twice as many Hispanics as whites 44% vs. 20%) trust the federal government, and more blacks (38%) than whites trust the government. People younger than 30 have more trust in government than do older people. And far more Democrats (38%) than independents (21%) or Republicans (15%) say they can trust the government at least most of the time.

A majority of Americans also say the federal government is a threat to their personal rights and freedoms.

In the January 2013 survey,  76% of conservative Republicans regard the government as a threat to their personal rights and freedoms and 54% consider the government to be a “major” threat, an increase over three years ago when 62% of them described it as a threat to their freedom and 47% said it was a “major” threat. By comparison, there is little change in opinion among Democrats; 38% say the government poses a threat to their personal freedoms and 16% view it as “major.”

Fewer Americans have a favorable view of the federal government, with the biggest decline in recent years coming among Democrats.

Since Barack Obama’s first year in office, favorable assessments of the federal government dropped 14 points, according to our March 2013 survey. For the first time since Obama became president, more Democrats say they have an unfavorable view of the federal government in Washington than a favorable view (51% unfavorable vs. 41% favorable).

The more negative view of the federal government has resulted in a growing gap between how Americans see Washington as compared to their state and local governments.

Ten years ago, roughly two-thirds of Americans offered favorable assessments of all three levels of government: federal, state and local. But in a survey conducted March 2013,public views of the federal government in Washington have fallen to a new low, while the public continues to see their state and local governments in a favorable light.

In the 2012 Values survey, 69% of Americans said the federal government should only run things that cannot be done at the local level.

Government Role

While many Americans may oppose a range of cuts in specific government programs, the public overall favors smaller government providing fewer services than a bigger government providing more services.

Currently, Americans say by a 56 to 35% margin that they prefer a smaller government providing fewer services than a bigger one, according to our Sept. 2012 survey. These opinions have changed little over the course of Barack Obama’s presidency, although the margin did narrow in 2008. There was a substantial partisan divide on this question: 87% of Republicans favored the smaller government option compared to 28% of Democrats. Conversely, Democrats preferred bigger government over a smaller one by a 60% to 11% margin over Republicans. Independents favored a smaller government over a bigger one by 65% to 27%.  

The trend in public opinion favoring a smaller role for government is reflected in declining support for the social safety net.

While a majority of Americans has consistently agreed it is the responsibility of government to take care of people who can’t take care of themselves, this has slipped to 59% from 63% in 2009 and 69% in 2007, according to our Values Study conducted in April 2012.

Since 2007, Republican support for the safety net has declined significantly even as Democrats continue to support government aid to the poor and needy as they have over the last 25 years. As a result, the current party gap is now larger than ever.

Government regulation of business has become one of the nation’s most politically divisive issues.

In nearly every political values survey since 1987, majorities have agreed that “government regulation of business usually does more harm than good.” Partisan differences on this measure were far greater in 2012 than they were in 2007, the final year of George Bush’s presidency. About three-quarters (76%) of Republicans said that government regulation of business did more harm than good, among the highest ever. Just 41% of Democrats agreed, one of their lowest percentages ever.

Branches of Government

Americans have a highly negative view of Congress.

Opinions about Congress remain very negative, according to our Jan. 2013 survey:  just 23% offer a favorable opinion while 68% express and unfavorable view.In 2009, 50% of the public regarded Congress favorably and, between 1985 and 2005, Congress was viewed more favorably than unfavorably.  Virtually identical majorities of Republicans (58%), Democrats (57%) and independents (56%) put the blame on members of Congress, not the political system.

Unfavorable views of the Supreme Court are close to an all-time low.

A survey conducted March 2013 found that 52% viewed the court favorably while 31% regarded it unfavorably. Republicans’ views of the court, which tumbled 18 points following the court’s ruling last year on the health care law, have rebounded somewhat. Nearly half of Republicans (47%) have a favorable opinion of the Supreme Court, up from 38% last July, but still lower than the 56% who viewed the court positively prior to its decision on the health care law. By contrast, Democrats’ impressions of the court have slipped since last July, from 64% to 56%.

Browse our data point sheets on other topics:

Overview |Deficit and Debt| Economy | Middle Class | Gun Control | U.S.-China Relations | Immigration | Climate Change | Gay Marriage | U.S.-Middle East Relations | Foreign Policy | U.S. Catholics | Iran

With much of the recent political focus on the ever-changing Republican presidential nomination race, Barack Obama’s job rating has improved modestly over the past month, although few Americans (35%) approve of the way he is handling the economy. A majority of Americans continue to hold a favorable personal opinion of Obama. This is not the case for his main GOP rivals, whom he mostly bests in test election measures.

The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Nov. 9-14 among 2,001 adults, including 1,576 registered voters, finds that Obama holds clear advantages over Cain, Gingrich and Perry in head-to-head matchups among registered voters. As was the case in October, however, Obama runs about even with Romney: 49% say they would vote for Obama or lean toward Obama while 47% support or lean toward Romney.

Read the full report for findings on these subjects:

• The political preferences of independents
• The primary preferences of Republican voters and how they view the candidates
• Views of Tea Party Republicans and Republican moderates
• Views of the allegations against Herman Cain
• The “engagement gap” between Republicans and Democrats regarding the 2012 campaign 
• Ratings of congressional leaders
• The Deficit and the Super Committee
• Public opinion of U.S. involvement in Iraq