tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512362.post7232126733672090658..comments2024-03-10T13:59:19.230-04:00Comments on xpostfactoid: Goldman et al short the DemocratsAndrew Sprunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17601269968798865106noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512362.post-88330942150575418142010-04-27T11:37:49.727-04:002010-04-27T11:37:49.727-04:00I think the problem with "trust in government...I think the problem with "trust in government" is that we want it to be something that it isn't. <br /><br />I'm being cryptic again, aren't I...OK. When we ask people whether they trust their government or not, what gets picked up in the answer doesn't seem to have anything to do with lobbying or campaign finance or corruption; what gets picked up is basically whether they think the president is doing a good job or not (which in turn is heavily about the economy, although there are other things). If you look around the Monkey Cage, John Sides is more of an expert on this stuff than I am, plus he has graphs...at any rate, it just doesn't map out on the things that people think it maps out on. <br /><br />(I'm also not convinced that there's more "corruption" now than forty or whatever years ago, but either way that's not going to show up in the trust in government data).Jonathan Bernsteinhttp://plainblogaboutpolitics.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512362.post-73568204523912991812010-04-26T18:00:57.719-04:002010-04-26T18:00:57.719-04:00Wow, Jonathan, I had to think about these cryptic ...Wow, Jonathan, I had to think about these cryptic dicta for a while. Can I unpack?<br /><br />1. "Trust in government" is 90+% driven by economic conditions, especially unemployment.<br /><br />2. The tea parties were spawned by the right wing rage that is always with us (see Clinton, Bill, Presidency). <br /><br />Re point 1: Agreed, more or less, when it comes to short-term and mid-range fluctuations in "trust" numbers. But if the growth of lobbying dollars, personnel and influence over the last twenty years hasn't eroded trust in government, it should have. Or do you have a long view of cycles of corruption and reform that indicate otherwise?Andrew Sprunghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17601269968798865106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512362.post-79880328729471494122010-04-26T17:38:18.769-04:002010-04-26T17:38:18.769-04:00I won't take on the general point, but two thi...I won't take on the general point, but two things on what you quoted here:<br /><br />Anytime anyone says that "X is eroding trust in government," I suspect you can ignore the rest of what they're saying. <br /><br />Also, anytime anyone says that "X helped spawn the Tea Parties" and X isn't "a Democrat being elected president" I suspect you can ignore the rest of what they're saying.<br /><br />Yeah, that's harsh, but I'm pretty sure it's correct.Jonathan Bernsteinhttp://plainblogaboutpolitics.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com