Trust in our Government. Who Saw that Coming?

As I was contemplating the content of our first blog entry, I just happened to be watching the returns of the Republican South Carolina primary.  I was a bit shocked at the last minute twist in the results, but then again nothing seemed out of place.  With our President experiencing his lowest approval rating to date and Congress receiving historically low approval ratings (even though the economy does appear to be recovering), it looks as if up is down and wrong is right in politics.  So, I wonder, what are we really approving (or not approving) of.

If one of our elected officials supports an idea, one single idea, that we stand in opposition to or, at the very least, don’t have the same zest for, do we disapprove of the overall job they are doing?  I know this seems a bit obtuse, but if one is simply asked to approve or disapprove of someone else, what factors are being considered?  Rather than focusing solely on a single notion - approval, I believe a better measure may be valuing the multifaceted trust we have in our elected officials.  That is, do we believe our government is acting fairly, being trustworthy, and working in our (its citizens) best interests.  The American Dream Composite Index measures this very notion, along with many more.  While other measures have shown a growing negative trend in government approval, our values for Trust in Government have been on the rise.  Since October 2011 this measure has increased steadily every month and now stands at a six month high.  This is a very positive statement at a very important time.  I suppose the next question should be, “If we are finally beginning to trust government, are we beginning to trust businesses as well?”.  Our survey says…...