John DuBois, University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

A number of representatives from Demos, a New York based Research Advocacy group, attributed the recent vitriol towards the U.S. government Friday as a result of general distrust in how the government operates.

“People tend to view government through … immediate images that pop in their head, one is that it’s just nothing but a bunch of bickering politicians, that it is just a political game and has nothing to do with me. Kind of a spectator sport if you will,” said Patrick Bresette, Associate Programming Director for Demos during a panel discussion.

Bresette said Americans also have questions over what the government really does and how tax-payer dollars are used

Jeff Madrick, Editor of Challenge magazine, attributed the recent anger to historical norms.

“The pendulum is a good way to describe american history. We did swing back and worth between pro government and anti government attitudes,” said Madrick.

Members of the organization Demos, a research advocacy group based in New York City, discuss why the government is not responsible for all of our nation’s problems. The discussion was held at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, DC.