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Haye’s basic argument for the near total failure of each pillar institution of our American society is that “We are in the midst of a broad and devastating crisis of authority” (13). Hays begins the book talking about how many of these pillars are supported by trust and confidence but over the year’s confidence has shrunk in all of the important areas of America. He starts off by talking about how “From 1999 to 2010, median household income in real dollars fell by 7%”. (1) People are making less money today than they did in the past when they should be making more; the economy should be growing larger but it’s not. This is showing how bad the economy is becoming. People don’t have hopes that things are or will get any better anytime soon.

Companies are failing and only growing larger. Just like a linear graph, as the government as well as media, private sector, and banks get bigger the overall trust in these institutions lessens. A 2010 Pew survey showed that trust in government was at the lowest level since he started measuring in 1978. “The ratings for Congress were just as low as they were for “large corporations (25% positive) and banks and other financial institutions (22%)”. (11) It’s important for people to stay faithful in the financial sector, because if people stop spending money the economy will collapse. “…a financial blackout that would render paychecks, credit cards, and ATM’s useless.” Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson proposed the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and later passed it. This has led to riskier lending from banks, more debt, and the worst banks in America growing to the largest and most powerful bank in the nation. The bailout for the financial sector will only make our problems worst in the future.

If people stop trusting Congress, government as a whole will begin to collapse. The media portrays America as a great place majority of the tine but fails at other times to report on important stories such as the manipulation of intelligence that led to the Iraq war, and the growth of the housing bubble. The American government constantly makes terrible decisions and puts its citizens at harm. People don’t feel protected and they also don’t feel informed by the media to make important decisions as who will represent them or what policies to support. People are now looking for alternative media such as YouTube, social media, and independent bloggers/journalists. “As the audience has dispersed, distrust in the media has skyrocketed. (pg.12)” It’s not good that newspapers were one of the most trusted institutions in America with ratings over 50% and today they are one of the least trusted along with the media. You would think with all of the technology today news would only get better but it’s the opposite.

Confidence is going away and with that with that goes authority, sooner or later Haye’s believes this crisis of authority will cause financial collapse, governmental collapse, and an overall failure of each pillar institution.