A national deficit of trust

By Eugene Robinson
WashPost
Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Trust might as well be a four-letter word. American public opinion seems to have become an unguided Weapon of Mass Suspicion, and it's not hard to understand why. But those who would exploit distrust, dissatisfaction and anger for political gain had better worry about collateral damage.

The overhyped Tea Party phenomenon is more about symbolism and screaming than anything else. A "movement" that encompasses gun nuts, tax protesters, devotees of the gold standard, Sarah Palin, insurance company lobbyists, "constitutionalists" who have not read the Constitution, Medicare recipients who oppose government-run health care, crazy "birthers" who claim President Obama was born in another country, a contingent of outright racists (come on, people, let's be real) and a bunch of fat-cat professional politicians pretending to be "outsiders" is not a coherent intellectual or political force.

But even people who wouldn't be caught dead at a Tea Party rally have lost trust in powerful institutions that are supposed to be working in the public's interest -- with considerable reason. Just look at the headlines.

There's obviously no reason to trust Wall Street. Theoretically, the only reason for the financial system to exist is to service the economy -- and the American people -- by channeling capital to its highest and best use. The charges filed last week against Goldman Sachs illustrate the extent to which capitalism's precepts have been turned on their head by financiers who believe the economy exists to service them.

(More here.)