The people we trust most … and least

By Bruce R. Posten\
Reading Eagle Newspaper 6/18/2010\
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Whom do you trust?\
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Survey says: Firefighters. Ninety-three percent of Americans say they’re No. 1.\
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Who else makes the list?\
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Survey says: By more than 75 percent, Americans trust the military, doctors, postal workers, schoolteachers and police.\
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What professional group is trusted least?\
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It’s politicians, with a 16.4 percent rating. They’ve been at the bottom of the list – and their ranking’s been sinking.\
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It’s less than half the 35.0 percent rating of lawyers, the professional group from which most politicians come.\
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Also among those polling under the 50 percent trust level are marketing and advertising specialists, managers, trade unionists, journalists, market researchers and bankers.\
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These are the 2010 findings of GfK Custom Research, a worldwide market research organization that surveyed 18,800 people in the United States, Europe, Brazil, Colombia and India during February and March.\
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In the interest of full disclosure, market researchers such as GfK scored only a 47 percent trust level with Americans, slightly above journalists at 42.0 percent.\
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Those low ratings might be partially due to Americans’ growing suspicions that poll results often depend on whom you ask and how you ask the question.\
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Bankers have suffered a 16 percentage-point decline in trust among Americans since the financial crisis of 2008; their standing is up 3 points since last year but still under 50 percent.\
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The clergy’s rating continues to decline, especially worldwide because of abuse scandals, but ranks at a 68.8 percent trust level in the U.S.\
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But even with a swirl of controversy surrounding health care reform, doctors still rank No. 3 (at 81.7 percent) in the United States, while postal workers surpassed police on the trust scale, 81 percent to 77 percent, respectively.\
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In fairness, police have moved upward in recent years, while postal workers, often heralded for dependability, have not always successfully delivered mail through snow, rain, heat or gloom of night.\
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Contact Bruce R. Posten: 610-371-5059 or bposten@readingeagle.com.\
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