CEO Or Otherwise

Opinion-watchers’ desks are littered these days with survey data showing a majority of Americans distrust big business and its leaders. Given the news of corporate misdeeds, one would be surprised if people felt otherwise. But it’s worth stepping back to ask whether Americans tend as a rule to trust others, CEOs or not. As it happens, a long series ofsurveys makes it clear they do not. In a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll fielded last month, adults were asked: “Generally speaking, would you say that most people can be trusted or that you can’t be too careful in dealing with people?” Those saying “you can’t be too careful” outnumbered those feeling “most people can be trusted” by 57 percent to 41 percent.