Gallup Poll  

Trust in Big Business Relatively Low

The overall level of trust in people hides a great deal of variation in the trust Americans have in specific types of people. The poll asked the public to say whether most members in particular groups can be trusted, or if one can't be too careful in dealing with members of those groups. The results appear below.

 

2002 Jul 5-8 (sorted by "most can be trusted")	Most can be trusted	Can't be too careful
	%	%
Teachers	84	15
Middle class people	75	21
People who run small businesses	75	22
Military officers	73	24
Police officers	71	26
Coaches of youth sports	68	28
Poor people	67	28
Protestant ministers	66	26
Doctors	66	31
Accountants	51	44
Professional athletes	48	45
Catholic priests	45	48
Rich people	43	51
Journalists	38	58
Government officials	26	69
Lawyers	25	70
Stockbrokers	23	68
CEOs of large corporations	23	73
Managers of HMOs	20	72
Car dealers	15	81

Clearly, the recent wave of corporate scandals has done little to engender faith in the executives of large companies. Only 23% of Americans say that CEOs of large corporations can be trusted, while 73% say you cannot be too careful in dealing with them. Stockbrokers are viewed similarly, with only 23% of the public saying you can trust most of them. Car dealers (at 15%) and managers of HMOs (at 20%) are the only two groups tested that rank lower than CEOs and stockbrokers.

Relatively speaking, accountants perform well. Despite the fact that accounting irregularities are at the heart of some of the recent business scandals, 51% of Americans say most accountants can be trusted. And it is clear the lack of trust in CEOs does not extend to all business managers. Three out of four Americans say that most people who run small businesses can be trusted.

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