No one would be shocked by research that shows Americans view the federal government negatively. What might be unexpected is just how much they do. The percentage of people who view the federal government positively has fallen to 17%, an all-time low. The percentage of those with negative views was 63%, a new Gallup poll reports.

New research also shows that “Americans view the computer industry the most positively and the federal government the least positively when asked to rate 25 business and industry sectors. All five of the top-rated sectors this year are related to either computers or food.”

Some of the results are to be expected, but a surprising number are not.

People have a poor view of the oil and gas industry. The Deepwater Horizon disaster was a part of that, certainly. The massive profits of big oil probably contributed as well, particularly with gasoline near $4. The real estate industry was also near the bottom of the 25 rated. Home prices and the bursting of the home price bubble made that rank predictable.

Those industries at the top of the list have had problems too, though. The computer industry had a positive rating of 72%, and internet was also high at 56%. The number of viruses spread across the internet and news about cyberattacks on big business seem to have had little effect. The issue of online privacy has also been on the public’s mind for many months, as more marketers use information taken online to market their goods and services. Perhaps the popularity of the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPad and the increased speed of broadband offset that.

The restaurant business had a positive rating of 61%. Food poisoning must have been ignored by patrons. The agriculture industry had a positive rating of 57%. The increases in food prices and all the concern about genetically engineered crops has had less of an effect than might appropriately be the case. Alternatively, food prices are more palatable that slick politicians who cannot agree on taxes or deficit reduction.

The only sector that seemed out of place was education. Its positive rating was only 35%. Its negative rating was 47%. Those numbers should be better in a nation with nearly universal public education. Maybe people think that education has been dumbed down. Or, perhaps, teachers are paid too much for results that are mediocre. There is something wrong when people view computer companies better than education.

Methodology: Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted Aug. 11-14, 2011, with a random sample of 1,008 adults, aged 18 and older, living in the continental U.S. selected using random digit dial sampling.

Douglas A. McIntyre

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