Figure Up 9 Points From 2009

When President Barack Obama first took office on January 20th, 2009, he promised to create an "unprecedented level of openness in Government". The government, President Obama said at the time, should be transparent and collaborative.

At the time, 66% of Americans felt as though there was widespread government corruption in the United States. Would President Obama be able to minimize this number at all? Would government openness and transparency result in less corruption?

Six years later and the answers to these questions is a resounding NO.

According to a recently conducted Gallup poll, 75% of Americans see widespread government corruption. This is up from the 66% level in 2009 and down from 79% in 2013.

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The Obama Presidency has been dogged by a number of different scandals, ranging from Benghazi to the IRS scandal to "Rosengate". In the minds of many people, the Obama Administration, which had promised to make significant changes in an effort to stamp out corruption, ended up being just like all of the other scandal-ridden Presidencies before it.

In addition, most people don't hold out too much hope for the future, as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is currently the frontrunner to win the White House in 2016, has been dogged by her own scandals, including the email server scandal which has become a big talking point in both the Republican and Democratic primaries.

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According to Gallup, Sweden is the least corrupt country, at least in the minds of its citizens, as just 14% of Swedish citizens believe that there is widespread corruption in their government.

Source: Gallup.com - 75% in U.S. See Widespread Government Corruption

Filed under: General Knowledge