ABSTRACT
The trustworthiness of public service sometimes becomes a contentious question. In the United States, government bashing has been part of the political culture. Public service organizations are often viewed by critics as being inefficient and wasteful, and public employees are criticized as being risk averse, innovation shunning, and overprotected by unions and job security, among other things. The criticisms escalated amid the Tea Party movement after the 2008 global financial crisis. To what extent is the distrust a bad thing or why is public service trustworthiness important? What are sources of the trustworthiness and what can be done to improve it?
