- New data from Gallup reveals that the United States lags behind many G7 countries on key indicators.
- By 2023, 26% of Americans will have trouble affording food, and confidence in the military is declining.
- Public trust in U.S. institutions, including the government and the judiciary, is declining.
The United States may be losing its strong position among the world's most developed countries.
For the first time in nearly two decades of polling, the United States ranks ahead of an informal group of advanced democracies on measures such as its ability to meet people's basic needs and trust in the state, according to new Gallup data released Wednesday. It was shown to be lagging behind some of the G7 countries. Trust in the government and military.
The Gallup report notes that “the United States remains the G7's dominant voice on the world stage.” “But the reality of domestic public opinion is beginning to tell a different story, one in which the United States no longer stands out as a leader in trust in the institutions that are the cornerstone of democracy.”
The United States spends more on the military than most G7 countries combined, but confidence has been steadily declining in recent years. Confidence in the US military has fallen to an all-time low of 81%, marking the first time that US military confidence has fallen below that of France, another G7 nation.
The decline in confidence began shortly after the Biden administration decided to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan in 2021, compared to a reported 93% confidence level in 2020 during former President Donald Trump's final year in the White House. However, by 2023, halfway through Biden's term, it had fallen to 81%. .
Additionally, a Gallup poll found that in 2023, only one-third of Americans believe the United States is spending an adequate amount on defense, and 35% believe the United States is spending too much. It was revealed that 29% of respondents believe that the total budget for the Department of Defense in 2023 of $851.8 billion is appropriate. It's not enough.
The survey also points out that trust in the U.S. justice system is in sharp decline, with the percentage of people who say they are confident dropping to 42% by 2023, making it the most It became the lowest country, slightly lower than Italy. The precipitous drop in confidence reported in 2023 occurred in the same year that four grand juries across the country indicted former President Trump on 91 felonies, but he and many of his supporters are politically It is assumed that there is a motive.
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn decades of Roe v. Wade abortion precedent in 2022 may also have contributed to the reported decline in confidence, according to Pew Research. Nearly 60% of Americans disapprove.
After a tumultuous 2023 that began a power struggle in the House of Representatives that later led to the historic ouster of former Rep. Kevin McCarthy as speaker, public trust in the U.S. government is at just 30%. That means it has dropped to 3 points, Gallup reported. It is under the United Kingdom, which has had three prime ministers since mid-2022.
Despite this grim view of American institutions, the country's economy remains stronger than that of the G7 countries. According to the OECD, the US GDP growth rate in 2023 was 2.5% compared to the previous year, compared to 1.9% for Japan and 1.5% for Canada.
Yet, every year since 2009, the U.S. has had the highest or tied for the highest percentage of residents who say they are having trouble affording food. As of 2023, 26% of Americans have struggled to buy food in the past 12 months, compared to 17% in Canada. Japan was the lowest among the G7 countries, with only 8%.
“Despite the U.S. economy growing faster than other G7 countries, public economic perceptions do not fully reflect this economic reality,” said Benedict, associate consultant and report author. Biggers told BI. “Americans are divided about the trajectory of the economy, with 44% thinking their local economy is getting better and 48% thinking it's getting worse.” The percentage of Americans “living in the United States” will fall again in 2023, to 41% – never lower than this in the past decade. ”