The Great Depression and World War II (WWII) solidified the federal government’s reputation among U.S. citizens as a powerful and effective force for good. Their genuine trust is a direct result of living under a government defined by justice, equality, and democratic principles. After the progressive reform era ended in the early 1970s, American trust in the government declined with each passing decade. According to the Pew Research Center, trust in the federal government went from an all-time high of 77% in 1964 to an all-time low of 17% in 2025. What caused this massive decline, and are there legitimate reasons for it? I would argue that a combination of political scandals, endless foreign interventions, and denial of domestic social needs caused this mistrust in government. 

Ever since Richard Nixon became President, this trust has eroded due to one scandal after another. Watergate was the biggest scandal of the Nixon administration. A group of burglars, including several Cuban nationals, broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters to wiretap phones. What made this into an epic scandal is that the case went far beyond simple cheating; Nixon and his administration abused their power to cover up their own involvement in the crime. To cover their tracks, they used illicit funds to buy silence while simultaneously destroying documents.

Even more concerning, the U.S. government has spent the last forty-five years not only losing the trust of its own citizens, but also damaging its credibility with global allies through repeated missteps. To restore trust among the U.S. government, its citizens, and its allies, the United States must reverse these misguided mindsets. Amid the numerous scandals of the Nixon administration, a quieter yet significant controversy surrounds Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

In 1949, the Communist Party of China established the People’s Republic of China (PRC). While they achieved power through a violent uprising, I would argue it wasn’t a true revolution. The destruction of a five-thousand-year Chinese cultural heritage, the burning of books, and the establishment of an autocracy cannot be justified as revolutionary acts. Luckily, the Republic of China (ROC), the true revolutionary state that dissolved China’s last dynasty, successfully moved to Taiwan and governed from Taipei to this day. Kissinger engaged with the PRC in what he thought was a strategic way to counter the USSR. His actions suggest either a hidden agenda or a total lack of judgment—especially considering the PRC was founded, funded, and organized with direct Soviet help. Essentially, he paved the way for his successors to shift official recognition from the ROC—a natural WWII ally and founding member of the United Nations—to the PRC. 

We must remember that American taxpayers paid a heavy price when the U.S. shifted official diplomatic recognition from the ROC to the PRC. U.S. political demand for cheap goods fueled a tolerance for forced labor in the PRC. After President Bill Clinton signed the Permanent Normal Trade Relations act, the subsequent shift in manufacturing cost millions of American blue-collar workers their jobs. Nixon, Carter, and Clinton were all complicit in following Kissinger’s lead, ultimately betraying America’s alliance with the ROC. For decades, a lack of a formal bilateral tax treaty subjected U.S. and ROC exporters to cross-border double taxation. This is a clear instance of the U.S. government neglecting its own citizens, ignoring state-sponsored forced labor in the PRC, and retreating from its historic alliance with the ROC. Political and corporate greed dealt severe consequences to all three parties.

Ronald Reagan was a champion of neoliberal economics, a system built on the myth that the free market can self-regulate. But let’s look at that logic plainly: when left without laws, do criminals self-regulate? Do drug dealers choose to limit their own supply? Does the mafia suddenly develop a conscience and stop extorting businesses? Of course not. An unregulated market doesn’t lead to fair balance; it simply rewards those willing to exploit the lack of rules. Neoliberal policies trap society in a destructive cycle that gut the social safety net, deregulates corporations, and rewards the ultra-wealthy with tax cuts. While the state is not a cure-all, democratically enacted economic legislation is essential to balancing public needs with private enterprise.

When Reagan became President, trickle-down economics took center stage in the United States. Since the 1980s, every generation has been sold the myth of trickle-down economics—but nothing ever trickles down. Millennials and Gen Z are the ones paying the price today. Decades after Reagan left office, the Republican party remained committed to deregulation and tax cuts while the Democratic party offered only token resistance, routinely making excuses for their inaction. Neoliberalism held a firm grip on policy until 2015, a turning point that witnessed the rebirth of the Progressive Movement. Yet, the repercussions of trickle-down economics continue to erode American livelihoods to this day.

While the ultra-wealthy benefit from multi-million dollar tax cuts, everyday families are systematically denied basic necessities by both major parties. When the public asks for universal healthcare, high-speed rail, or postal banking, the response from leadership is always a variation of ‘we can’t afford it’ or ‘that is too radical.’ Yet, whenever billionaires seek government assistance, funding suddenly materializes. This double standard reveals a system that treats vital public needs as an unaffordable luxury, while treating corporate welfare as an absolute necessity. It is no surprise that in 2026, public frustration is boiling over. Everyday Americans are demanding that the ultra-wealthy stop relying on government handouts and corporate loopholes.

Corporate bums know Americans want their tax dollars spent at home to build a modern New Deal. To stop this, they bribe politicians. The healthcare cartel buys politicians to permanently block universal healthcare. Big Oil funds puppets to deny alternative energy. The National Rifle Association lobbies greedy politicians to oppose stricter gun control legislation, which directly hinders efforts to prevent mass shootings in public spaces like schools and places of worship. Meanwhile, presidents who rely on dark money have a history of starting wars and then claiming that national security must come at the expense of domestic progress. The Iraq and Iran wars vividly illustrate how national security agendas are often used to sideline domestic priorities.

U.S. foreign policy is currently defined by a striking double standard. Politicians who claim we cannot afford domestic programs readily write blank checks for Israel’s military, even as its offensive operations result in the tragic deaths of thousands of Palestinian women and children. We need to remember that foreign aid to Israel isn’t free money; it’s funded by the tax dollars of working and middle-class American families. Meanwhile, Ukraine is left fighting for its survival, forced to beg for assistance while facing public hostility from political figures like Donald Trump. It is entirely reasonable to ask why a highly secure nation receives billions in free annual aid, while a country on the brink of collapse is treated as a political burden. To make matters worse, Taiwan (ROC) pays the U.S. billions for arms that are routinely delayed for years. Geopolitically, both Taiwan and Ukraine are arguably far more vital to U.S. interests than Israel.

President Trump began his second term by imposing sweeping tariffs on all foreign nations, making no distinction between allies and adversaries. This aggressive trade strategy harms the international standing of the United States. The resulting price increases place a heavy financial burden on American citizens—many of whom already face a limited social safety net—potentially driving more households into poverty. Data from the Canada Energy Regulator shows that Canada accounts for 60% of all crude oil imported by the United States, far outpacing any Middle Eastern supplier. Despite this, George W. Bush (GWB) fabricated excuses to launch the Iraq War, while Trump imposed further tariffs on Canada, pandered to Saudi Arabia, and pushed the U.S. into a conflict with Iran. Despite Taiwan controlling 90% of the advanced semiconductor market, Trump’s policy favors tariffs on Taipei over confronting Beijing. This shifts traditional U.S. support away from a key democratic partner in favor of transactional trade politics with an authoritarian rival. U.S. neoliberal policies consistently prioritize short-term financial gain for a select few at the expense of national and global stability. Ultimately, this approach harms American citizens, strains relationships with democratic allies, and inadvertently strengthens authoritarian adversaries.

The Trump administration’s utilization of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—a domestic terrorist agency established under GWB—eroded public trust by expanding enforcement actions to target legal residents and citizens within immigrant communities. To this day, 11 Americans, including some Caucasians, have lost their lives at the hands of ICE agents. On January 6, 2021, Donald Trump incited an unsuccessful insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, resulting in violent clashes between thousands of rioters and law enforcement. In other democratic nations, such actions would trigger immediate disqualification from public office and criminal imprisonment. However, because of “American exceptionalism,” he was able to launch another presidential campaign. The inclusion of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton on Jeffrey Epstein’s list highlights potential allegations of rape involving minors. The concept of “American exceptionalism” once again protected powerful political figures from formal prosecution. 

Today, the United States faces strained relations with key allies—including Canada, Taiwan, Japan, and several European nations—largely due to its own foreign policy choices. Domestically, public trust in the federal government has eroded to historic lows across the political spectrum. However, a silver lining has emerged: the American public is increasingly politically engaged, driven by a progressive movement that has steadily gained momentum since 2015. This year, a growing number of progressive Democrats is set to enter the U.S. Senate and House, signaling a potential shift toward long-term legislative reform. 

A future progressive majority will restore equal accountability under the law, ensuring that wealth and power no longer shield individuals from justice. This platform envisions a foreign policy that firmly prioritizes democratic allies, alongside a domestic agenda centered on delivering universal healthcare, high-speed rail, and postal banking to American citizens. To make this a reality, the American people must continue voting out corporate whores in every upcoming midterm. Remember, policy matters more than party loyalty. This divergence is clear in how figures within the same party select their influences—with Hillary Clinton citing Kissinger as a role model, and Bernie Sanders aligning himself with FDR.