Poll: Americans not happy with Congress

A new poll shows that American citizens are deeply dissatisfied with Congress and that there is a sharp political divide in the US.

According to the poll conducted by USA TODAY and the Bipartisan Policy Center, there has been an overwhelming consensus over the recent years among Americans that US politics have become more divided.

In February 2013, US citizens by nearly 4-1 regarded division a bad thing as it makes it more difficult to get things done.

However, the new poll, conducted by landline and cellphone, shows that the number went down by 20 percent from 74 percent to 55 percent.

The number of people who say the divide is a good thing, simply because it gives voters a real choice, has doubled and reached 40 percent.

“Honestly, I feel like Congress is designed to be slow, so it could be frustrating but that’s how they are designed to be,” said Gage Egurrola, 23, who was among those surveyed. “It helps stop bad policies.”

But, Shar Wright, 65, disagreed. “I think this is the new normal, and I think it’s terrible,” she said. “They’re putting their own agendas first and they should be voting on what the people want and what the country needs. What we need is a lot more care, a lot more concern and a lot less of tomfoolery.”

The fact that people are skeptical about the US government’s ability to tackle problems compounded by worries about the Affordable Care Act is one reason behind the shift in people’s opinion of the divide from 2013 to 2014.

At present, Americans want their representatives in Congress to abolish bad laws instead of passing new ones.

“There’s a feeling on the part of many people that in this environment where they don’t see a lot of good that’s happening, their goal is to have their member stop bad things from happening, and they see polarization as a way to do that,” says Democratic pollster Mark Mellman.