Almost 8 in 10 Americans happy at home, dissatisfied with government

A majority of Americans say they are satisfied with their personal lives and finances, but feel dissatisfied or angry with the US government, according to a poll issued on Saturday.

Almost eight in 10 Americans say that they have sharp disdain for the U.S. political system, citing anger with the influence of lobbyists and special-interest groups on both parties and politicians, the AP-GfK poll finds.

Meanwhile, about the same proportion say they are happy with their friends and family, feel good about their financial situation and are more or less content at work.

Republicans are far more likely to be angry with the way the U.S. government is working. Half of Republican voters say the federal government makes them see red, compared with about one-quarter of Democrats or independents.

Follow-up interviews revealed these Republicans are much more supportive of the party's presidential front-runner Donald Trump, while in the Democratic nomination race, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders has also drawn strong support of voters who say they are fed up with the federal government.

However, many voters said during the interviews that they are upset with both parties, as well as veteran politicians and Washington insiders, blaming them for not putting their constituents' interests first.

"They haven't done anything for the people as much as they' ve done for the wealthy and for businesses," retired Miami postal worker Kenneth Olinsky, 61, said in the interview.

"There is a definite class system in this country; it' s the haves against the have nots."

In the poll, 71 percent of Americans think the country is headed in the wrong direction. Nearly half of Democrats, but less than 1 in 10 Republicans, think the country is headed in the right direction.

The poll of 1,076 adults was conducted online between March 31 and April 4 with a margin of error of 3.3 percent.

Source: XINHUA