# What does it mean when Gallup says "Americans Name government #1 problem"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 16, 2015, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-it-mean-when-gallup-says-americans-name-government-1-problem/715136 "2015-03-16T18:51:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Iacob\_Matthew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Iacob\_Matthew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iacob_Matthew)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2015, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-it-mean-when-gallup-says-americans-name-government-1-problem/715136/1 "2015-03-16T18:51:47Z")
> **[Americans Name Government as No. 1 U.S. Problem](https://news.gallup.com/poll/181946/americans-name-government-no-problem.aspx?utm_source=Politics&utm_medium=newsfeed&utm_campaign=tiles)** > > As it has for the past four months, the government continues to be the most important U.S. problem, mentioned by 18% of Americans. But it has widened its lead over top issues such as the economy (11%) and unemployment (10%). According to Gallup, for the past 4 months, weighted polls of Americans have identified “Government” as their #1 concern. This trumps other categories which are explicitly listed like “economy”, “healthcare”, “immigration”, and everything I usually hear people complaining about when they complain about the government. Therefore, I have no idea what it means when it says “Americans name Government as the #1 problem”. What are people/Gallup referring to? What _is_ the problem? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2015, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-it-mean-when-gallup-says-americans-name-government-1-problem/715136/2 "2015-03-16T19:00:19Z")
“Poor governance” is my guess. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2015, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-it-mean-when-gallup-says-americans-name-government-1-problem/715136/3 "2015-03-16T19:06:06Z")
Agreed; I would not take it as an expression of antigovernment sentiment in the Libertarian or RW sense, though no doubt that is present among some responders. ---
**Author:** ![nate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nate/32/13085_2.png) [@nate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nate)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2015, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-it-mean-when-gallup-says-americans-name-government-1-problem/715136/4 "2015-03-16T19:25:11Z")
It means, relatively speaking, we don’t have a lot to complain about. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2015, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-it-mean-when-gallup-says-americans-name-government-1-problem/715136/5 "2015-03-16T19:38:47Z")
Low information voters generalizing because they’re unable to speak effectively about any specific topic, would be my guess. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2015, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-it-mean-when-gallup-says-americans-name-government-1-problem/715136/6 "2015-03-16T20:22:33Z")
The actual choice on the poll was “dissatisfaction with government”. Which raises the possibility that at least some of the responders might have been saying that complaints about the government was a problem rather than the government itself. In support of this, the number of people who say they are satisfied with the way things are going in the United States has risen in the last few months. So these poll results could be expressing the opinion _“I’m getting tired of people saying everything’s going to hell. The country is actually doing pretty well.”_ ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2015, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-it-mean-when-gallup-says-americans-name-government-1-problem/715136/7 "2015-03-16T20:48:19Z")
Keep in mind only 18% picked government from the multi choice poll and it is probably a mix of respondents in that bunch: Conservatives who are anti-statist Liberals who feel the state could solve the problems we have but is too dysfunctional Independents who are just tired of the policy fighting So I doubt it is a monolithic group. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2015, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-it-mean-when-gallup-says-americans-name-government-1-problem/715136/8 "2015-03-16T23:49:22Z")
I agree, but what government? The [Eurogroup](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurogroup)? The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant? China? Russia? While I don’t know quite what we should do about it, it is Russia’s government that poses the greatest risk of messing up our western world’s relative – compared to historical standards – peace and prosperity. Those close at hand see this: > **[Poles Steel for Battle, Fearing Russia Will March on Them Next (Published 2015)](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/15/world/europe/poland-steels-for-battle-seeing-echoes-of-cold-war-in-ukraine-crisis.html?_r=0)** > > Paramilitary groups in Poland have experienced sharp spikes in membership since Russia began meddling in Ukraine last year, and anxiety is apparent nationwide. What the US government could be up to seems to me a lot less worrisome. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-it-mean-when-gallup-says-americans-name-government-1-problem/715136/9 "2015-03-17T00:10:12Z")
> [@Iacob\_Matthew](#): > > [Americans Name Government as No. 1 U.S. Problem](http://www.gallup.com/poll/181946/americans-name-government-no-problem.aspx?utm_source=Politics&utm_medium=newsfeed&utm_campaign=tiles) > > According to Gallup, for the past 4 months, weighted polls of Americans have identified “Government” as their #1 concern. This trumps other categories which are explicitly listed like “economy”, “healthcare”, “immigration”, and everything I usually hear people complaining about when they complain about the government. > > Therefore, I have no idea what it means when it says “Americans name Government as the #1 problem”. What are people/Gallup referring to? What _is_ the problem? Go to the actual source page and you will get as good an explanation as exists. ---
**Author:** ![Magniankh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@Magniankh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magniankh)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-it-mean-when-gallup-says-americans-name-government-1-problem/715136/10 "2015-03-20T21:26:11Z")
> [@Iacob\_Matthew](#): > > I have no idea what it means when it says “Americans name Government as the #1 problem”. What are people/Gallup referring to? What _is_ the problem? **Start with:[In today’s global economy, the need for global collaboration is vital less we globally collapse.](http://www.ted.com/talks/jared_diamond_on_why_societies_collapse?language=en)** [Wealth inequality, why it hurts all of us.](http://fortune.com/2014/10/31/inequality-wealth-income-us/) [Immense, unpayable debt among a demographic that should be the strong middle class.](http://www.forbes.com/sites/specialfeatures/2013/08/07/how-the-college-debt-is-crippling-students-parents-and-the-economy/) [Beef demand destroying the planet’s largest CO2 filter.](http://www.rtcc.org/2013/04/18/brazil-soya-and-beef-exports-driving-30-of-deforestation-emissions/) [The Fukushima disaster.](http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Safety-and-Security/Safety-of-Plants/Fukushima-Accident/) [The largest ocean on the planet is polluted beyond belief, and governments won’t do anything about it.](http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/great-pacific-garbage-patch/?ar_a=1) [The world is running out of potable water.](http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/may/22/world-run-out-water-ban-ki-moon1) [The most populated state in America is already feeling the effects of increasing desertification of the planet.](http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/3/19/water-rationing-may-become-a-way-of-life-in-california-drought.html) [History and problem of the American education system.](http://fee.org/freeman/detail/the-failure-of-american-public-education) So yeah, there are things to be worried about. Right now America is struggling with gays marrying and if marijuana should be legal, yet there are far more pressing concerns regarding the very future of the human species, like the poor educational system that should be doing more to prepare debt-ridden and poverty-stricken households with the tools necessary to overcome the looming obstacles faced by humankind. Will humans be completely wiped out? Unlikely. Can the world devolve into a dystopia where the planet is all but destroyed, tapped out on consumable resources, and governments continuing to wage war in the name of profit and not progress? Yes. The problem with governance these days is that if there’s no profit in doing something, like cleaning up the Pacific Ocean, then no one will touch it. Governments – citizens of governments – need to pressure their governments to start making decisions that will benefit all of ours’ futures, not just a few pocketbooks. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-it-mean-when-gallup-says-americans-name-government-1-problem/715136/11 "2015-03-20T22:42:50Z")
It means that Gallup probably should be more specific. As a liberal, I can name a bunch of things I don’t like about the government: crazy GOP, lack of regulations, idiot judges trying to remove civil rights, religious people pretending religious freedom is being attacked and trying to make laws making Christianity supreme, etc. That’s probably going to be different than a conservative blaming government. But we’ll both be blaming the government.