Locals lead, states score, feds falter.

• Author: Winter, Mary
• Position: STATESTATS - Approval ratings of state and federal government - Brief article

Compared to Congress, state governments shine. According to a Pew Research Center national survey of 1,501 respondents in March, a majority of Americans--57 percent--viewed their state government favorably, a 5 percent increase over last year. In contrast, the federal government's approval rating fell 5 percentage points to a new low of 27 percent.

One explanation for the wide gap between state and federal approval ratings may be that people perceive state leaders as more fiscally responsible than Congress and the White House, says Carroll Doherty, associate director of the Pew Research Center. "The federal deficit is a major concern for Americans, whereas many states, by law, must balance their budgets," Doherty says. Survey findings support that theory. Thirty percent of respondents said their state's economy was excellent or good; only 16 percent said the same about the U.S. economy.

Others suggest the state-federal disparity stems from Americans' dislike of partisanship and gridlock in Washington, D.C. Another factor...