Public Trust in Government Bleak, Survey Finds

From GovExec.com:

U.S. taxpayers overwhelmingly believe the federal government has failed to explain how it generates and spends money, creating a growing expectations gap that is eroding the public's trust in its leaders, according to a new survey released Wednesday.

The survey, Public Attitudes to Government Accountability and Transparency 2008, measured how 1,652 adults felt about federal, state and local governments' financial management and accountability to taxpayers.

The results paint a grim picture of the public's unhappiness with both the availability of financial information and the way it is delivered to citizens, said Relmond Van Daniker, executive director of the Association of Government Accountants, which commissioned the study. The poll was conducted by Harris Interactive, a market research firm based in Rochester, N.Y.

Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=39336&dcn=e_gvet