Transparency And Consumer Trust

By Matt Pillar, chief editor

The public’s distrust of has never been on more clear display than it has this election cycle. Unfortunately for those who sell to the public, it’s a sentiment that’s contagious.

Recent polls peg both of the candidates’ trustworthiness in foul territory. I’m not going to quote any specific polls, because the pollsters can’t be trusted either. The point is that not even the news source that best feeds your ideology can put a shine on your candidates’ trustworthiness polling. Flip on the TV and try to prove me wrong.

Similarly, public ill-placed trust is at an all-time high. Despite their different brands of recklessness and deceit, millions upon millions of Americans have been radicalized to rally for one of our two major candidates, throwing their blood, sweat, money, and soon, tears behind one or the other. That I find the idolization of either candidate by anyone an entirely laughable concept is an unrelated story. My point is that politics proves that if you spin your message to only those who fervently follow you, you’re in a race to the bottom. There are 320 million people in this country. Fewer than half of them vote for President in a good election year, and that population is incredibly polarized and roughly split again.