EDITORIAL: Presidential candidates dodge voters’ top concern: big government

To hear Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders tell it, Wall Street is chiefly to blame for America's problems. Many of those running on the right might place a considerable amount of blame at the feet of unions. According to a recent Gallup poll, however, the American people think something else is to blame.

When Gallup asked Americans to name the biggest future threat to the country — big business, big labor or big government — 69 percent named big government. That number is down 3 points from the last time Gallup asked the question in 2013, but still far ahead of big business (25 percent) and big labor (6 percent).

Gallup theorizes that the 2013 all-time high of 72 percent may have been largely influenced by the rollout of the Affordable Care Act and Edward Snowden's revelations about government snooping. Two years later, with Obamacare's increasing costs, the staggering dysfunction of Veterans Affairs and Hillary Clinton's disappearing emails, it's not particularly surprising that the poll result has remained roughly the same.

In other recent Gallup polling, half of Americans questioned believe the federal government is a threat to their rights and freedoms — the same government that 75 percent of Americans polled say is plagued by widespread corruption. A mere 8 percent of those polled say they have "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in Congress, which pales in comparison with the 21 percent who have much confidence in big business and the 24 percent who have much confidence in organized labor. Among governmental entities, only the presidency and the Supreme Court were able to nudge out organized labor and big business in the polling.

Even if you break down the survey results by political party, things don't look so hot for the federal government. Nearly 90 percent of Republicans say big government is America's biggest future threat, with 67 percent of independents and 53 percent of Democrats saying the same. While the gap between Republicans and Democrats is considerable, the number of Democrats who view big government as our nation's biggest threat still represents a majority of that party's voters. These numbers are especially interesting in light of the current race for the White House.

It's not surprising that Democratic presidential candidates want to expand government power. However, it's disappointing that Republican candidates, who have shifted much of their focus to national security, aren't exactly calling for a less powerful federal government themselves. It's enough to make you wonder: Are any of the candidates for president really paying attention to the problems facing the country and the concerns of the American people?

With candidates regularly visiting Nevada in the runup to February's first-in-the-West caucuses, it's a question voters should ask them.