Social Security Administration, IRS, EPA and Homeland Security receive
lowest marks
ROCHESTER, N.Y., Feb. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- When asked about 13 different
government agencies, substantial majorities (63% or more) of the public
claim they understand what these agencies do. They also give 12 of the 13
agencies positive ratings. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) tops the
list, receiving the most positive votes as it has for the past few years.
Nine in 10 adults (90%) say they understand what the CDC does and most give
it positive marks (84%).
In terms of doing a good job, next on the list is the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) with 78 percent positive, the National Institutes of
Health (NIH) with 75 percent, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
with 74 percent, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) with 73 percent
and the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) with 71 percent.
At the other end of the list, the federal agencies with the lowest
marks are the Social Security Administration with only 40 percent positive,
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with 55 percent positive and the
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) also at 55 percent positive.
These are the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 2,337 U.S. adults
surveyed online by Harris Interactive(R) between January 11 and 18, 2007.
Changes over time
Harris Interactive has asked these questions five times since 2000, and
it is clear from these results that public attitudes toward federal
government agencies are sometimes volatile, moving up or down in response
to events.
There have been some changes in the proportions of the public who are
familiar with what these agencies do. For example, those familiar with the
SEC increased sharply between 2001 and 2003, from 58 percent to 76 percent
as the agency frequently appeared in the news because of Enron, WorldCom
and other corporate scandals and the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation. Since
then, familiarity with the SEC has declined, to 63 percent now.
While most of the agencies rated have positive/negative ratings which
are similar to what they were in the last survey in 2004, three agencies
show significant improvements:
-- The FBI's positive rating (i.e. excellent or pretty good) has increased
from 64 percent to 74 percent;
-- The SEC's positive rating has increased from 62 percent to 71 percent;
-- The CIA's positive rating has increased from 53 percent to 61 percent.
The only agency to see a significant downturn in its reputation is the
Social Security Administration; its positive rating has slumped from 51
percent to only 40 percent. However, attitudes toward the Social Security
Administration vary dramatically by age, with only 38 percent or less of
the age groups below 50 giving it positive marks, compared to 56 percent of
those ages 65 and over, the only age group with which it is in regular
contact.
Agencies included for the first time
Two agencies which have not been included in the surveys conducted
between 2000 and 2004 were included in this new survey:
-- The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is known to a large majority
of adults (88%) and generally receives good marks (73%);
-- The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) which is known to 69
percent of adults gets positive marks from 63 percent of the public.
What does it all mean?
We often hear people say or write that Americans don't trust the
government and dislike government regulations. It is interesting, and
perhaps surprising, that all except one of these important federal
government agencies gets positive marks from majorities -- in many cases
substantial majorities -- of the public. Even the IRS, whose sole purpose
is to enforce tax collection laws and processes, is rated positively by a
55 percent majority.
TABLE 1
HOW MANY PEOPLE UNDERSTAND WHAT THIRTEEN FEDERAL AGENCIES DO "I will
read you a list of federal government agencies. Please say for each if
you understand what it is and does, or not."
Base: All adults
2000 2001 2003 2004 2007
% % % % %
The Internal Revenue Service or IRS 95 96 97 96 94
The Food and Drug Administration
or FDA 93 94 98 97 93
The Federal Bureau of Investigation
or FBI N/A 96 97 96 93
The Social Security Administration 94 95 96 94 90
The Centers for Disease Control
or CDC 86 85 96 92 90
The US Department of Agriculture
or USDA N/A N/A N/A N/A 88
The Environmental Protection Agency
or EPA 90 90 90 93 87
The Central Intelligence Agency
or CIA N/A 87 87 91 87
The Federal Aviation Administration
or FAA 78 85 85 88 85
The Department of Homeland Security N/A N/A 81 86 82
The Transportation Security
Administration or TSA N/A N/A N/A N/A 69
The Securities and Exchange
Commission or SEC 54 58 76 69 63
The National Institutes of Health
or NIH 57 61 61 62 63
N/A=Not applicable. The agency was not offered as a choice at that time.
TABLE 2
RATINGS OF FEDERAL AGENCIES
"Overall how would you rate the job (READ LIST) does - excellent, pretty good,
only fair or poor?"
Base: Understand what (agency) is and does
Excellent/ Only |
Pretty Fair/ |Excellent Pretty Only
Good Poor | Good Fair Poor
(NET) (NET) |
% % | % % % %
The Centers for Disease |
Control or CDC 84 16 | 23 60 14 2
The Federal Aviation |
Administration or FAA 78 22 | 19 59 19 3
The National Institutes |
of Health or NIH 75 25 | 17 58 21 4
The Federal Bureau of |
Investigation or FBI 74 26 | 16 58 23 3
The US Department of |
Agriculture or USDA 73 27 | 13 60 23 4
The Securities and |
Exchange Commission |
or SEC 71 29 | 14 58 24 5
The Transportation |
Security |
Administration or TSA 63 37 | 11 52 30 7
The Food and Drug |
Administration or FDA 62 38 | 11 51 30 7
The Central Intelligence |
Agency or CIA 61 39 | 11 50 31 8
The Department of |
Homeland Security 56 44 | 11 44 31 13
The Internal Revenue |
Service or IRS 55 45 | 7 48 34 11
The Environmental |
Protection Agency |
or EPA 55 45 | 7 48 34 11
The Social Security |
Administration 40 60 | 5 35 42 18
Note: Totals may not add to 100% because of rounding.
TABLE 3
TRENDS IN RATINGS SINCE 2000
POSITIVE*
2000 2001 2003 2004 2007
% % % % %
The Centers for Disease Control or CDC 78 79 90 84 84
The Federal Aviation Administration or FAA 58 54 76 77 78
The National Institutes of Health or NIH 63 77 80 71 75
The Federal Bureau of Investigation or FBI N/A 68 69 64 74
The US Department of Agriculture or USDA N/A N/A N/A N/A 73
The Securities and Exchange Commission
or SEC 53 71 57 62 71
The Transportation Security Administration
or TSA N/A N/A N/A N/A 63
The Food and Drug Administration or FDA 62 67 68 65 62
The Central Intelligence Agency or CIA N/A 57 57 53 61
The Department of Homeland Security N/A N/A 56 59 56
The Internal Revenue Service or IRS 44 63 51 54 55
The Environmental Protection Agency or EPA 56 64 55 53 55
The Social Security Administration 48 60 48 51 40
*Positive = excellent or pretty good
TABLE 4
RATING OF SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION BY AGE
"Overall how would you rate the job (READ LIST) does - excellent, pretty good,
only fair or poor?"
Base: Understand what Social Security Administration is and does
Positive* Negative**
% %
All Adults 40 60
18 - 29 31 69
30 - 39 38 62
40 - 49 35 65
50 - 64 43 57
65 and over 56 44
*Positive = excellent or pretty good
**Negative = only fair or poor
Methodology
This Harris Poll(R) was conducted online within the United States
between January 11 and 18, 2007 among 2,337 adults (aged 18 and over).
Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household
income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their
actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also
used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.
All surveys are subject to several sources of error. These include:
sampling error (because only a sample of a population is interviewed);
measurement error due to question wording and/or question order,
deliberately or unintentionally inaccurate responses, nonresponse
(including refusals), interviewer effects (when live interviewers are used)
and weighting.
With one exception (sampling error) the magnitude of the errors that
result cannot be estimated. There is, therefore, no way to calculate a
finite "margin of error" for any survey and the use of these words should
be avoided.
With pure probability samples, with 100 percent response rates, it is
possible to calculate the probability that the sampling error (but not
other sources of error) is not greater than some number. With a pure
probability sample of 2,337 adults one could say with a ninety-five percent
probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- two
percentage points. However that does not take other sources of error into
account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and
therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the
National Council on Public Polls.
J29494
Q955, 960
About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is the 12th largest and fastest-growing market
research firm in the world. The company provides research-driven insights
and strategic advice to help its clients make more confident decisions
which lead to measurable and enduring improvements in performance. Harris
Interactive is widely known for The Harris Poll, one of the longest
running, independent opinion polls and for pioneering online market
research methods. The company has built what it believes to be the world's
largest panel of survey respondents, the Harris Poll Online. Harris
Interactive serves clients worldwide through its United States, Europe and
Asia offices, its wholly-owned subsidiary Novatris in France and through a
global network of independent market research firms. The service bureau,
HISB, provides its market research industry clients with mixed-mode data
collection, panel development services as well as syndicated and tracking
research consultation. More information about Harris Interactive may be
obtained at http://www.harrisinteractive.com.
To become a member of the Harris Poll Online and be invited to
participate in online surveys, register at
http://go.hpolsurveys.com/HarrisPoll.
Press Contact:
Tracey McNerney
Harris Interactive
585-214-7756
Harris Interactive Inc. 2/07
The Harris Poll(R) #10, February 6, 2007
By Humphrey Taylor, chairman of The Harris Poll, Harris Interactive
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