How City Hall Lying Contributes to Plummeting Trust in Government: An LA Case Study
How City Hall Lying Contributes to Plummeting Trust in Government: An LA Case Study By Dick Platkin, CityWatchLA, March 21, 2019 PLATKIN ON PLANNING-As someone who worked for public agencies most of his career, it is disheartening – but not surprising -- to see data on the growing public distrust of government. While fully understandable, distrust is getting worse for both Trumpian and Garcettian reasons. As the chart here demonstrates, within living memory public trust in government has fallen from 75 percent in the Eisenhower era to below 20 percent under Trump. While city governments generally fare better in these polls, Los Angeles is not among them. Our fair city has experienced two enormous civil disturbances (1965, 2002), LAPD consent degrees , City Hall pay-to-play scandals, world-class traffic congestion and bad air, crumbling sidewalks, and endless spin jobs to