Americans have lost faith in some of the most important roles in society, including the health care industry, education, and especially positions of organizational power.
a Gallup poll Honesty and Ethics, conducted in late 2023, asked 800 respondents to rate the ethical standards and overall trustworthiness of a range of professions.
“How would you rate the integrity and ethical standards of people in these different fields?” the survey asked. In terms of “very high” trust, all but one occupation took a hit compared to the previous year.
The poll, which measured the downward trend going back to 2019, showed that doctors, pharmacists, bankers and journalists were the least trusted.
For physicians, the rate decreased from 65% in 2019 to 56% in 2023, and for pharmacists, it decreased from 64% to 55%.
The ethics of bankers and journalists has also attracted public attention, dropping from 28% in 2019 to 19% in 2023.
Chiropractors, clergy, and business executives were affected by the survey by 8 points and had the second largest decline.
Dentists (-2), stockbrokers (-2), insurance workers (-1), and car salespeople (-1) performed best in the same period of research.
However, dentistry was the only profession among the top earners that did not yet receive the worst rating in the “very high” trust category.
Dentists were trusted by 59%, but only 12% trusted insurance agents and stockbrokers. Car salespeople were near the bottom at just 8%.
Only 8% of senators came in dead last in terms of trustworthiness, and only 6% of House of Representatives respondents rated themselves as having “very high” ethical standards.
The only profession where perceptions of ethical standards increased was trade union leadership, which saw an increase of 1% up to 25%.
Gallup also reported that ethics ratings for five U.S. professions are at record lows.
Data dating back to 1976 shows that ratings for pharmacists, clergy, journalists, senators and congressmen are at their lowest in nearly 50 years.
as pointed out by America’s New Majority Projectwhen comparing the views of Democrats and Republicans, the opinions of some top professions also differed significantly.
Only 22% of Republicans spoke highly of college teachers, compared to nearly two-thirds of Democrats (62%). Similarly, Democrats rated journalists more than four times more favorably than Republicans. 32% to 7%, respectively.
However, for police officers, the numbers are reversed, with 55% of Republicans saying they have high praise for police officers and 37% of Democrats agreeing.
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