A poll released by the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute on Friday revealed a deep level of distrust between elected officials and their constituents, in addition to an overall concern for Wisconsin’s economy.

“It’s an ongoing trend of disconnect,” said Jim Miller, president of the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute. “People see these problems coming right at them, and so are having less confidence in Congress and the president, as well as government here at home.”

The poll randomly selected 600 Wisconsin residents and asked their opinion on various issues, including the most important problems facing the state.

Forty-eight percent of Wisconsinites felt either the economy or unemployment were the biggest issues. However, only 13 percent of people felt their elected officials represented the interests of the voters as opposed to personal interests or those of lobbyists.

The poll revealed respondents having an overall lack of trust in state government to do the right thing. Only 1 percent of residents statewide said they could trust the government almost all of the time, while 65 percent felt they could trust the government only some of the time.

However, this attitude does not seem to be a concern for Gov. Jim Doyle or for representatives across the state.

“This is one poll, so it’s tough to take it as an accurate reflection, and a reflection of the facts or how things are,” said Lee Sensenbrenner, spokesperson for Doyle. “One of the top priorities of Gov. Doyle has always been ways to improve the economy and jobs.”

A district in Southeast Wisconsin represented by Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, had the highest level of distrust across the state with 71 percent of respondents feeling they could trust state government only some of the time.

It was also the region where people were most concerned about jobs and the economy, with 63 percent of voters rating those as their highest issues.

“The founders of our country wrote the Constitution on the premise that you can’t trust your government,” Grothman said. “It would be scary if we reached a point where a majority of Americans felt that they trusted big government.”

He added the federal government, and specifically politicians like President George W. Bush and President-elect Barack Obama, is the reason the country is in an economic crisis.

“We would not be in these crises if politicians were not so in love with big government, and we will continue to have a crisis if we think that big government can fix this,” Grothman said.

Andrew Reschovsky, professor of public affairs and applied economics and a faculty affiliate of Institute for Research on Poverty, reminded voters that while they have every right to be concerned, the problems are not just a result of state government.

“The current economic problems are national and global problems, and the government of any individual state has only limited ability to impact the economy,” Reschovsky said. “That being said, the state can do things to assist residents who are being particularly hurt by the current economic downturn, such as those who lose their jobs, their health insurance or their homes.”