Americans are losing trust in government by Glenn Harlan Reynolds in USA Today February 11, 2013

Excerpt:

A government limited to relatively few things — visible things, obviously relevant to the common good — can probably do those things well. As a consequence, it is likely to be trusted and admired. A government that tries to do a lot of things, on the other hand, will probably do them badly and be less highly regarded.

The problem, of course, is that a government that does a lot of things badly is more appealing to the political class: more opportunity for graft, and for exercising the inflated self-importance that probably drives politicians even more than graft. The question is whether the government exists for the country’s benefit, or for the benefit of the political class. At present, the answer to that question is depressingly clear.

print