Americans now see the government as the top problem facing the country, according to a new survey.
The poll, released by Gallup on Monday, found that 21% of Americans think the government is “the most important problem facing this country today.” The survey’s field period ran from January 2 to 22.
Coming in second place, 15% of respondents saw inflation as the top problem. In third and fourth place were immigration (11%) and the economy (10%), respectively.
Gallup also broke down the poll results by party affiliation.
“The government ranks as the top problem for both Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (24%) and Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (18%),” Gallup explained. “Inflation and immigration are each cited by 18% of Republicans, while mentions of inflation (11%), the economy in general, and race relations (9% each) trail the government among Democrats.”
The poll also found that issues including the environment, race relations, and unifying the country are more likely to be viewed as top problems by Democrats than by Republicans.
Only 21% of Americans approve of Congress’ performance, while 41% approve of President Joe Biden’s performance.
The survey also found that Americans have an overwhelmingly negative view of the economy.
“More than four in five U.S. adults rate economic conditions in the country as only fair (38%) or poor (45%), with few describing conditions as excellent (2%) or good (15%),” Gallup explained. “Furthermore, 72% of Americans say the economy is getting worse, 22% say it is improving, and 4% think it is staying the same.”
While most Americans have a negative view of the economy in general, most respondents did see one positive element — the job market.
The poll found that “64% of Americans say it is a good time to find a quality job in the U.S., which is statistically unchanged from last month but eight points lower than the January 2022 reading.”
Responding to this poll, James Quintero, policy director at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, told The Dallas Express, “Government today costs too much and interferes too often. It looks nothing like what the Framers of the U.S. Constitution originally intended.”
“Across the nation, Americans are voting with their feet and moving to states that espouse low taxes and limited government, like Texas and Florida,” he continued. “That’s a clear sign of what the public wants and where public policy should be headed nationwide.”
“I believe this poll shows just a small percentage of how most Americans feel, with a vast majority wanting less government interference, as they are the root of most of our problems,” added Harrison Moore, director of programming for the Dallas Young Republicans. “However, this poll does show a direct correlation of the continued failures of the Biden administration and their inability to relate to the average American.”