Todd Tiahrt: “polls have shown that the American people no longer trust their government to do, quote-unquote, the right thing most of…”

“polls have shown that the American people no longer trust their government to do, quote-unquote, the right thing most of the time. In fact, just over the last 3 decades this country has changed so dramatically in that regard. Under President John F. Kennedy, approximately 7 out of 10 Americans trusted their government. Now only 1 out of 10 Americans do. Only 1 out of 10 Americans trust their government to any degree of satisfaction. This is deeply disturbing. I think restoring trust in government must be a top priority for this Congress. Mr. Speaker, I believe that the corruption, the politicization and the general abuse of the IRS plays a major role in this change of attitude on the part of the American citizens. When a government agency has the power to bully citizens, to operate with virtually no accountability and to make a mockery of our constitutional right to due process, it is no wonder that the citizens have grown to distrust their own government. I believe that if IRS reform is not passed in this Congress, many Americans will consider the 105th Congress to be an overall failure.”