What comes to mind when I say \u201cHurricane Helene\u201d?<\/span> What comes to mind when I say \u201cHurricane Helene\u201d?<\/span><\/p>\n Jason,<\/span> 52, white, independent<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Kimberly,<\/span> 41, white, Democrat<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Mark,<\/span> 64, white, Republican, retired<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n In the wake of the crises of the decade so far \u2014 the pandemic, extreme weather and natural disasters, among others \u2014 Americans have increasingly expressed their doubts about institutions, the government especially. <\/p>\n Since Donald Trump\u2019s return to office and the rise of Elon Musk as a major political figure, there\u2019s been intense focus on a simple set of questions: What should the government be for? Who should it help? What explains its failures? In Opinion\u2019s latest focus group, we spoke with 14 people from North Carolina who were either directly affected last year by Hurricane Helene, or who had close friends or family members who were. Because of that event, many of them were directly confronted with these questions of government help and trust in institutions. At a time when the future of many government services could change significantly, we asked them about what Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk are doing and how other leaders, like Joe Biden, handled the crisis. <\/p>\n \u201cThe whole system of fixing things is broken. Everything that\u2019s supposed to be in place is not there,\u201d one participant said, describing his worries about not only North Carolina but also places devastated by wildfires in recent years. Some worried about FEMA\u2019s future, even if they were deeply dissatisfied with the recovery efforts last year, others wanted to rethink it entirely, and others expressed frustration with the lack of understanding in this hyperpoliticized environment and the false claims<\/a> that circulated last fall. <\/p>\n And at a time when people \u2014 including participants in this group \u2014 expressed real concern and worry about government cuts, layoffs and funding changes, many also expressed a skeptical and dissatisfied view of how government performs today. What does government do well? One participant answered, \u201cProvide complicated explanations for why it does what it does.\u201d <\/p>\n Ms. Miller is a staff editor in Opinion. Ms. Soltis Anderson is a pollster. Mr. Rivera is an editorial assistant in Opinion.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Participants<\/span> <\/p>\n Abigail<\/span> 28, white, independent, operating assistant <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Jason<\/span> 52, white, independent, account executive <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Jordan<\/span> 34, white, Republican, unemployed <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Kimberly<\/span> 41, white, Democrat, unemployed <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Kirsten<\/span> 35, white, Democrat, sourcing manager <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n LaKetha<\/span> 40, Black, Democrat, counselor <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Mark<\/span> 64, white, Republican, retired <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Nina<\/span> 62, white, Republican, operations manager <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Porscha<\/span> 36, Black, Democrat, consultant <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Regine<\/span> 53, Black, independent, caterer <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Richard<\/span> 40, Asian, Republican, tech support manager <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Steve<\/span> 55, white, independent, plumber <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Vincent<\/span> 40, white, Republican, customer service <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Sydney<\/span> 29, Black, Democrat, learning specialist <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Transcript <\/span><\/p>\n Moderator<\/span>, Kristen Soltis Anderson<\/p>\n I want to start off with a really big question: What is government for?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Jason,<\/span> 52, white, independent, account executive<\/span><\/p>\n Government has a lot of functions. It\u2019s making sure that we have a functioning society and not chaos. It\u2019s the military. It\u2019s public services and programs like Social Security and Medicaid. It\u2019s helping its citizens.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Porscha,<\/span> 36, Black, Democrat, consultant<\/span><\/p>\n Maintaining order, security, protecting our rights, having some sort of rules and structure around everything \u2014 that\u2019s my immediate thought when I think about what the government is supposed to do.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Mark,<\/span> 64, white, Republican, retired<\/span><\/p>\n Yeah, the government is supposed to provide law and guidance to people so that we all have the same rights and responsibilities.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Moderator<\/span>, Kristen Soltis Anderson<\/p>\n Let\u2019s talk a bit about the federal government. What does the federal government do well?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Kirsten,<\/span> 35, white, Democrat, sourcing manager<\/span><\/p>\n Fund its military.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Steve,<\/span> 55, white, independent, plumber<\/span><\/p>\n Collect taxes. That\u2019s not a good thing.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Jordan,<\/span> 34, white, Republican, unemployed<\/span><\/p>\n Provide complicated explanations for why it does what it does.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Nina,<\/span> 62, white, Republican, operations manager<\/span><\/p>\n Not all the people they\u2019re helping deserve the help, but they do supply help to people who are needy, like vets. I think they could do better.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Moderator<\/span>, Kristen Soltis Anderson<\/p>\n A great segue into my next question: Who is the federal government good at helping?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Kimberly,<\/span> 41, white, Democrat, unemployed<\/span><\/p>\n Rich people.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Richard,<\/span> 40, Asian, Republican, tech support manager<\/span><\/p>\n I think they do take care of businesses, so as to ensure that there\u2019s work and jobs.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Moderator<\/span>, Kristen Soltis Anderson<\/p>\n What about state and local government? What are some things they do well, maybe even better than the federal government?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Steve,<\/span> 55, white, independent, plumber<\/span><\/p>\n Everything.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n LaKetha,<\/span> 40, Black, Democrat, counselor<\/span><\/p>\n They are more in tune with what our citizens need, our local citizens. A lot of agencies here in North Carolina are local, and they kind of have an ear to what our local people need.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Kirsten,<\/span> 35, white, Democrat, sourcing manager<\/span><\/p>\n North Carolina is definitely pushing the boundaries of working for itself versus for the people. We\u2019ve seen a lot of legislation passed recently that really doesn\u2019t have the best interest of the people, along with a lot of tactics to try to block votes. So while state governments certainly are more in tune across the board, I think North Carolina is testing the limits of what would have been acceptable in the past.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Moderator<\/span>, Kristen Soltis Anderson<\/p>\n What are some things the federal government doesn\u2019t do so well?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Nina,<\/span> 62, white, Republican, operations manager<\/span><\/p>\n I don\u2019t think the federal government does well with FEMA. I think that they\u2019ve let the people of Western North Carolina down.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Sydney,<\/span> 29, Black, Democrat, learning specialist<\/span><\/p>\n There\u2019s been an attempt at combating rampant misinformation. I see all of these documents and websites that try to help people understand what\u2019s actually happening in government and with FEMA. But it seems to just kind of create more mistrust and misinformation. I don\u2019t really know how to combat that, but I think that we could explore other ways to build confidence in our government than tip sheets and fact sheets.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Steve,<\/span> 55, white, independent, plumber<\/span><\/p>\n I think the federal government did a terrible job on the Covid response with their overreach. They threw a lot of businesses, especially restaurants and small business owners, in a big wreck, and they silenced alternative methods of treatments for Covid.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Moderator<\/span>, Kristen Soltis Anderson<\/p>\n In Washington there\u2019s a lot of discussion about making some pretty big changes to the federal government, including reducing its size. What have people heard about the changes that have been happening in the federal government?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Jason,<\/span> 52, white, independent, account executive<\/span><\/p>\n Obviously, I hear about Elon Musk and DOGE and the sledgehammer that they\u2019re taking to a lot of the government agencies. There was a memo about laying off 80,000 workers in the V.A. A lot of those are veterans. So I think there\u2019s definitely waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government that needs to be corrected. But I think we need to use a scalpel, not a sledgehammer. And I think it\u2019s causing a lot of problems in the country.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Regine,<\/span> 53, Black, independent, caterer<\/span><\/p>\n We have a shadow president. Elon Musk is running the country, and Trump isn\u2019t. And he is sitting here, tearing apart the country. All these people are being laid off. It\u2019s just a mess. I voted Republican before, so it\u2019s nothing against them. But what they\u2019re doing is totally wrong.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Moderator<\/span>, Kristen Soltis Anderson<\/p>\n What, in particular, do you think is wrong about it?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Regine,<\/span> 53, Black, independent, caterer<\/span><\/p>\n That all these people are losing their jobs, veterans. There aren\u2019t any jobs. Cuts to services, U.S.A.I.D. It\u2019s everything. The markets are down. Farmers might lose their farms. It\u2019s just terrible, what\u2019s happening right now.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Mark,<\/span> 64, white, Republican, retired<\/span><\/p>\n All the layoffs are very concerning. We\u2019re losing jobs in the technical aspects like NOAA and the National Weather Service. They recently shut down classes<\/a> for the National Fire Training Academy because all those jobs and funding were cut. And those are not just somebody pushing a piece of paper somewhere. Those vital jobs that are needed to support the whole country.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Steve,<\/span> 55, white, independent, plumber<\/span><\/p>\n I think the cuts are absolutely good. We\u2019ve spent billions of dollars for other countries and crazy programs like transgender research in other countries and all kinds of idiotic, non-common-sense expenditures of taxpayer dollars. And that has to change. It\u2019s been going on for years, government waste on both sides.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Moderator<\/span>, Katherine Miller<\/p>\n I want to switch gears a bit to North Carolina and Hurricane Helene. First, what\u2019s your favorite thing about living in North Carolina?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Kimberly,<\/span> 41, white, Democrat, unemployed<\/span><\/p>\n I love that I am roughly an hour and a half from virtually everything except the beach. There\u2019s a big city relatively close by. I can go up to the mountains and hike. I can go over to nice flatlands. We\u2019ve got really good lakes here.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static01.nytimes.com\/newsgraphics\/2025-03-19-focusgroup-government-purpose\/fccbe6d8-2cb3-4a54-8a62-6c2664e47afe\/_assets\/jason.png\")
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