---
"title": "Think Government Is Wasteful"
"description": "That's the percentage of Americans who agree that \"when something is run by the government, it is usually inefficient and wasteful.\""
"date": "2007-06-18"
"authors":
  -
    "name": "Russell Heimlich"
    "job_title": "Former web developer"
    "link": "https://alpha.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/staff/russell-heimlich/"
"url": "https://alpha.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/short-reads/2007/06/18/think-government-is-wasteful/"
---

# Think Government Is Wasteful

By a 62%-to-34% margin, most Americans agree that “when something is run by the government, it is usually inefficient and wasteful”; this is the highest level of cynicism in a decade. By an identical margin, a majority of Americans do not believe that “most elected officials care what people like me think.” Both cases reflect a substantially higher level of skepticism about government than in 2002 or 2003. The 34% reading on those who believe elected officials care about the views of average Americans is on par with a 20-year low of 33% in 1994. [Read More](https://alpha.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/pubs/434/trends-in-political-values-and-core-attitudes-1987-2007)