Members of Congress are, along with telemarketers, the worst rated in a recent Gallup poll analyzing the honesty and ethical standards of different professions. The poll asked 1,020 U.S. adults, "Please tell me how you would rate the honesty and ethical standards of people in these different fields: very high, high, average, low, or very low?" Members of Congress ended up ranking 17th of 18 available options, behind professions such as bussines executive and car dealer.
Only 2% of those surveyed said that the ethical standards of congressmen are "very high,” and 7% rated them as "high." In addition, the survey, conducted between Nov. 9 and Dec, 2, 2022, indicates that 62% of Americans surveyed believe their congressmen have problems with honesty and ethics. Of these, 37% say their standards are "low" and the remaining 25% say they are "very low."
Rated just above congressmen and congresswomen are journalists. According to Gallup, they rank 13th, with 23% positive ratings. They rank above advertising executives, who received 15% "very high" or "high" ratings.
However, citizens surveyed trust high school teachers and police officers more than journalists and advertising executives. These professions obtained positive ratings among a majority of respondents, with 53% and 50% respectively. They finished fourth and fifth in the ranking.
Healthcare workers dominate the rankings
Fortunately, Americans have great confidence in the honesty and ethical standards of healthcare workers. The New York Post pointed out that nearly eight in ten adults consider nurses to have "very high" (29%) or "high" (50%) ethical standards. These results put them, once again, in first place in the survey, as has been the case in all but one year since they were added to the ranking in 1999.
Physicians and pharmacists also have high honesty ratings, Respectively, 62% and 58% of respondents rated them "very high" or "high." However, Gallup notes, all three professions significantly decreased their credibility levels during the pandemic, and all are now below the levels they reached before 2020.
