# I am curious as to which branches of the US gov. you think would be considered the least criticized **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 24, 2017, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-curious-as-to-which-branches-of-the-us-gov-you-think-would-be-considered-the-least-criticized/792035 "2017-07-24T15:22:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kadmos1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/13edae/32.png) [@Kadmos1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kadmos1)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-curious-as-to-which-branches-of-the-us-gov-you-think-would-be-considered-the-least-criticized/792035/1 "2017-07-24T15:22:45Z")
I am curious as to which branches of the US gov. you think would be considered the least criticized by mainstream media and to which are arguably the most reputable. This thread welcomes both objective and subjective responses. As there are hundreds of agencies, Wikipedia’s “List of federal agencies in the United States” page is perhaps 1 of the best lists. For me, I would argue NASA and the Library of Congress for there reputation of progress through science, technology, and the humanities. Heck, the LoC is perhaps more reputable at adhering to the Copyright Clause than Congress and SCOTUS. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-curious-as-to-which-branches-of-the-us-gov-you-think-would-be-considered-the-least-criticized/792035/2 "2017-07-24T15:25:22Z")
I hardly ever hear anyone bitching about the Tennessee Valley Authority. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-curious-as-to-which-branches-of-the-us-gov-you-think-would-be-considered-the-least-criticized/792035/3 "2017-07-24T15:57:18Z")
Not NASA. NASA’s involvement in the human exploration of space involves massive costs but little is accomplished. And if there is a setback NASA responds by freezing operations (the Challenger explosion with a 32 month hiatus in the program). > **[Space Shuttle Challenger disaster](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Challenger_disaster)** > > On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members aboard. The spacecraft disintegrated 46,000 feet (14 km) above the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 11:39 a.m. EST (16:39 UTC). It was the first fatal accident involving an American spacecraft in flight. > The mission, designated STS-51-L, was the tenth flight for the orbiter and the twenty-fifth flight of the Space Shuttle fleet. The crew was sc... And of course many say that the money should be spent solving problems on Earth instead of wasting it on space. The Social Security Administration has a good reputation. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-curious-as-to-which-branches-of-the-us-gov-you-think-would-be-considered-the-least-criticized/792035/4 "2017-07-24T16:19:12Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > I hardly ever hear anyone bitching about the Tennessee Valley Authority. I don’t recall hearing TVA mentioned at all for decades, but this pernicious venture into Marxism still “rung a bell.” And indeed Google took me to > [@](#): > > A partial list of the things that the [John Birch] Society describes as wicked, Communist, and dangerous includes: U.S. membership in the United Nations, the International Labor Organization, the World Health Organization, the International Trade Organization, and UNICEF; membership in GATT (the General Agreement on Trades and Tariffs); reciprocal trade agreements; the “useless and costly” NATO; “so-called defense spending”; all foreign aid; diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union and all other Communist nations; the National Labor Relations Act; social security; the graduated income tax; the Rural Electrification Administration, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, and _ **TVA** _; government wage and price controls; “forced integration”; “deliberately fraudulent” U.S. government bonds; the Federal Reserve system; urban renewal; fluoridation; metro government; the corporate dividend tax; the “mental health racket”; federal aid to housing; and all programs “regimenting” farmers. If Ann Coulter and Paul Ryan aren’t still calling for the privatisation of TVA, it’s probably just because they, like I, have forgotten about it. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-curious-as-to-which-branches-of-the-us-gov-you-think-would-be-considered-the-least-criticized/792035/5 "2017-07-24T16:38:54Z")
The Congressional Budget Office is well regarded. I’ve never heard a negative word about the Coast Guard ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-curious-as-to-which-branches-of-the-us-gov-you-think-would-be-considered-the-least-criticized/792035/6 "2017-07-24T17:39:37Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > The Congressional Budget Office is well regarded. I think you underestimate the contempt modern Republicans have for anything which has been soiled by sanity. [QUOTE=[Congressional Republicans Escalate Their Battle With the CBO - The Atlantic](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/07/republicans-cbo-hhs-score-bcra/534480/)] Republicans have ignored those concerns in favor of agitation against the CBO. A June Fox News op-ed from North Carolina Representative Robert Pittenger claims the CBO “only provides unsupported conclusions, as it is based on highly questionable predictions.” \*\*\*The president’s aides called recent CBO scores “little more than fake news” \*\*\*in a Washington Post op-ed, and the _ **White House has also released videos on social media attacking the agency’s conclusions** _. House Speaker Paul Ryan attempted in March to preempt an earlier CBO score with a presentation of his own analysis, and on Thursday _ **he called the most recent CBO report “bogus.”** _ [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-curious-as-to-which-branches-of-the-us-gov-you-think-would-be-considered-the-least-criticized/792035/7 "2017-07-24T19:43:30Z")
I think the administrators of medicare are generally well regarded. I think most would put the IRS at or near the bottom. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-curious-as-to-which-branches-of-the-us-gov-you-think-would-be-considered-the-least-criticized/792035/8 "2017-07-24T20:41:29Z")
National Parks? [mumbles]_Goddamn Coast Guard and Tennessee Valley Authority!_[/mumbles] ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-curious-as-to-which-branches-of-the-us-gov-you-think-would-be-considered-the-least-criticized/792035/9 "2017-07-24T20:47:48Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > I hardly ever hear anyone bitching about the Tennessee Valley Authority. If you canoed, rafted or kayaked, then you would have. [TVA’s lease agreement for using the Ocoee River was due to expire in 2018.](http://community.nrs.com/duct-tape/2017/06/22/saving-the-ocoee/) I can’t recall the details, but while the agreements for other entities on other rivers require accommodation for recreational use TVA’s usage agreement for the Ocoee does not. TVA’s announced rate increases for rafting companies would have decimated the rafting industry, taking an estimated $44M out of Polk County and the surrounding area’s economy. The state of Tennessee and other organizations stepped in to negotiate and finance recreational releases, but TVA’s proposed increases came as a shock and left a bad taste in the mouths of a lot of people. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-curious-as-to-which-branches-of-the-us-gov-you-think-would-be-considered-the-least-criticized/792035/10 "2017-07-24T21:18:10Z")
> [@Kadmos1](#): > > I am curious as to which branches of the US gov. you think would be considered the least criticized by mainstream media and to which are arguably the most reputable. This thread welcomes both objective and subjective responses. As there are hundreds of agencies, Wikipedia’s “List of federal agencies in the United States” page is perhaps 1 of the best lists. > > For me, I would argue NASA and the Library of Congress for there reputation of progress through science, technology, and the humanities. Heck, the LoC is perhaps more reputable at adhering to the Copyright Clause than Congress and SCOTUS. Branches are not the same as agencies. You seem to be confused about that. ---
**Author:** ![Kadmos1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/13edae/32.png) [@Kadmos1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kadmos1)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-curious-as-to-which-branches-of-the-us-gov-you-think-would-be-considered-the-least-criticized/792035/11 "2017-07-24T23:20:51Z")
Flyer, thank you for clarifying. I suppose it should it should be which “I am curious as to which agencies of the US gov. you think would be considered the least criticized”. PastTense, Wikipedia’s “Social Security (United States) § Criticisms” and “Social Security (United States)” has a lot more controversy/criticism than one might think. For LoC criticisms, check out “The Library of Congress needs a professional librarian, not a ‘scholar-in-chief’” (a 7/6/16 _RStreet_ article) or “The Library of Congress is criticized by the Government Accountability Office” (a 4/3/15 Melville House article). The Melville mentions how LoC-run Copyright Office has cost taxpayers $10,000,000s and the CC’s system is both inefficient and outdated. With all the lobbying media companies and estates do for longer and stricter copyright terms, you think they would be generous enough to help modernize the Copyright Office’s systems. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2017, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-curious-as-to-which-branches-of-the-us-gov-you-think-would-be-considered-the-least-criticized/792035/12 "2017-07-25T03:50:45Z")
Library of Congress is the only one I can think of that I have never personally heard criticized. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2017, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-curious-as-to-which-branches-of-the-us-gov-you-think-would-be-considered-the-least-criticized/792035/13 "2017-07-25T06:22:57Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > National Parks? Did you already forget when they openly rebelled against Trump and posted a bunch of climate change FAKE SCIENCE? :rolleyes: Trump also wants to privatize them. Hell, they’re already partially privatized (concessions/lodging vendors). I love our parks, don’t get me wrong, but they’re not free of criticism… ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2017, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-curious-as-to-which-branches-of-the-us-gov-you-think-would-be-considered-the-least-criticized/792035/14 "2017-07-25T06:33:40Z")
> [@Kadmos1](#): > > Flyer, thank you for clarifying. I suppose it should it should be which “I am curious as to which agencies of the US gov. you think would be considered the least criticized”. > > PastTense, Wikipedia’s “Social Security (United States) § Criticisms” and “Social Security (United States)” has a lot more controversy/criticism than one might think. > > For LoC criticisms, check out “The Library of Congress needs a professional librarian, not a ‘scholar-in-chief’” (a 7/6/16 _RStreet_ article) or “The Library of Congress is criticized by the Government Accountability Office” (a 4/3/15 Melville House article). The Melville mentions how LoC-run Copyright Office has cost taxpayers $10,000,000s and the CC’s system is both inefficient and outdated. With all the lobbying media companies and estates do for longer and stricter copyright terms, you think they would be generous enough to help modernize the Copyright Office’s systems. Wouldn’t this be better measured as some sort of satisfaction RATIO? If some random small agency doesn’t get a lot of criticism, that doesn’t mean necessarily mean it’s doing a good job, maybe just that it’s flying under the radar. Maybe limit to the only big agencies of a certain size/budget? ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2017, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-curious-as-to-which-branches-of-the-us-gov-you-think-would-be-considered-the-least-criticized/792035/15 "2017-07-25T13:47:27Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Did you already forget when they openly rebelled against Trump and posted a bunch of climate change FAKE SCIENCE? :rolleyes: > > Trump also wants to privatize them. Hell, they’re already partially privatized (concessions/lodging vendors). > > I love our parks, don’t get me wrong, but they’re not free of criticism… I more remember the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone; that was why I eliminated them. We humans are strange; whatever is done almost always someone is bound to be against it. Especially if it involves the word “government”. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2017, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-curious-as-to-which-branches-of-the-us-gov-you-think-would-be-considered-the-least-criticized/792035/16 "2017-07-25T14:27:30Z")
Asking which are the least criticized is an odd question. The public may not criticize an agency either because they support it, or because they don’t know it exists. Does the OP mean to ask, which agencies of the Federal government have the most general support? I’d say the Smithsonian museums. People come to DC and they may stop by the Library of Congress (to mention another agency that has come up a few times) and they say, “Wow, nice building.” They go to the various Smithsonian museums and say, “Wow! And this is all FREE!?!?” But [here](http://www.people-press.org/2015/11/23/4-ratings-of-federal-agencies-congress-and-the-supreme-court/) is a recent poll on people’s attitudes toward a handful of government agencies. You’ll never guess who number one is! ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2017, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-curious-as-to-which-branches-of-the-us-gov-you-think-would-be-considered-the-least-criticized/792035/17 "2017-07-25T16:29:11Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > But [here](http://www.people-press.org/2015/11/23/4-ratings-of-federal-agencies-congress-and-the-supreme-court/) is a recent poll on people’s attitudes toward a handful of government agencies. You’ll never guess who number one is! I guessed right! But I am one of the few people today who use them a lot and realize just how dependable and affordable they are compared to other countries. ---
**Author:** ![Kadmos1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/13edae/32.png) [@Kadmos1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kadmos1)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2017, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-curious-as-to-which-branches-of-the-us-gov-you-think-would-be-considered-the-least-criticized/792035/18 "2017-07-25T17:24:31Z")
Ravenman, I mean the agencies of the federal government that has the most general support, as well agencies you folks feel personally feel get the least amount of criticism both in general and in the mainstream media.