A lack of confidence.

• Author: Kreyche, Gerald F.

Among the various indices that measure everything from soup to nuts is that of consumer confidence. With the high employment rate and the long-reigning bull market, this has scored consistently strong. Yet, when it comes to confidence in various institutions, many Americans give them a flunking grade.

The Federal government candidly admits that it can't control waste in Medicare, Medicaid, welfare, food stamps, Social Security, and military spending. In nearly every project it undertakes, huge cost overruns are the norm, rather than the exception. AmTrack is just one glaring example. Begun in 1971, it has cost the government $17,000,000,000 to keep the railroad afloat.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, which has had more czars than post-World War II Italy had heads of government, has failed miserably and might be the best argument for drug legalization. The entire government bureaucracy seems like the result of crossing a cow with an octopus -- a creature able to milk itself! Anthony Lake, a onetime candidate for the head of the CIA, put it succinctly as he withdrew his nomination, declaring his entire experience in the process showed "a government gone haywire."

Habitual liars are not to be trusted, and that is the charge many make against government today. Mary Schiavano, former head of the Department of Transportation, accused the Federal Aviation Administration of deliberately misinforming the public about airline safety, and wrote a book, Flying Blind, to prove her point.

During Operation Desert Storm, the public was told with great fanfare about the incredible accuracy of the military's "smart bombs" and the huge success of the Patriot missiles against Iraq's SCUDs. Later claims were more sober and indicated that such praise was unjustified. No wonder the issue of Gulf War Syndrome can't be put to rest.

Not only secular institutions fail the confidence test. The Roman Catholic Church has had myriad scandals concerning pedophile priests. It tried to sweep the growing expose under the rug, but this just worsened the matter. One bishop even declared that, although he thought such unpriestly activity was morally abhorrent, he didn't believe it was legally wrong. Thus, he didn't report it!

The Pope's adamant position on birth control and refusal to recognize remarriage after divorce largely is ignored by the laity and many of the clergy as well. Moreover, the Pontiff continues to insist on a celibate priesthood, despite a drastic drop...