2014-01-22

The Other Trust Problem

Does trust in the government matter? Well, the word credit comes from the Latin word for believe, trust. The financial system is based on credit and the fiat currency printed by the United States is backed by "the full faith and credit" of the United States federal government. When trust in the government falls that directly impacts the financial and monetary system, leaving aside the socionomic reasons for the decline of both systems.

Trust in U.S., other governments plummets after state missteps
Just 37 percent of college-educated adults told the Edelman Trust Barometer that they trusted the U.S. government - 16 points down on a year earlier and seven points below the global average.

The United States was not quite at the bottom of the heap as levels of trust in governments in some Western Europe countries including France, Spain and Italy were even lower, but the scale of the American decline was particularly dramatic.

Public Trust in Government: 1950-2013

Waning trust in government
A recent Eurobarometer survey has shown a significant loss of trust in the government. When the poll was taken last autumn, six months after the Labour Party’s sweeping general election victory, trust in the government had fallen from 59 per cent to 48 per cent, a drop of almost one fifth. I dare say that if another poll were taken today, the level of trust in the Maltese government would have dropped even further.

Ukraine: 3 protesters dead amid clashes with police in Kiev
The clashes are an escalation of weeks of largely peaceful public protests prompted by President Viktor Yanukovych's decision in November to spurn a planned trade deal with the European Union and turn toward Russia instead.

The European Union and United States have urged all parties in Ukraine to exercise restraint and find a democratic solution to the political crisis.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also warned Tuesday that the situation in Ukraine was "getting out of control" and urged dialogue between all the parties.

Thai 'red-shirt' leader shot as emergency rule begins

The World’s Most Visited City Is Again Marred by Violent Protest: Here’s Why

Turkish Government, Shaking Up Police, Now Seeks More Power Over Judiciary

Beijing's crackdown on corruption

The Loss of Trust in Higher Education

Climategate, Public Opinion, and the Loss of Trust
In 2007 and 2008, climate change reached the top of the international agenda......By the end of 2009, however, the situation had changed.

SECOND general in charge of nuclear missiles is fired over 'loss of trust' as Pentagon is forced to deny he's an alcoholic

For Obama, loss of trust over health-care law poses major problems for his agenda, legacy

Lack of trust can tell us what is missing
It was disheartening to read this headline, recently: “Poll: Americans don’t trust one another.” Disheartening, yes, but not surprising.

Anyone who can think critically about what goes on from day to day has developed an internal gauge that registers when something “seems” odd or not quite right. For younger observers, it’s a feeling. Feelings can and do pass. For the older observers among us, it’s a reflection of life’s experience. Experience, good and bad, is what it is.

The poll conducted in November by AP-GfK found that Americans are suspicious of each other in everyday encounters.
Diversity isn't helping matters, it only adds a fundamental structural loss of trust on top of declining social mood.

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