The Gallup poll has released its survey of the public’s trust in various institutions, and also shows whether the public’s trust has increased and decreased over the past year. No surprises: virtually every institution has lost public trust, with only the medical system and big business (which hit a historic low in 2009) improving more than a percentage point.

The bottom of the barrel? Why Congress, naturally. You had to ask?

And the biggest drop in trust since last year, by far, goes to the institution of the Presidency, down 15%. No other institution declined half as much.

For a system of government uniquely dependent on mutual trust, this poll is more than bad news. It is a warning.

The ranking is below. Only the first three on the list have the trust of even half the public; those that follow the schools are trusted by less than a third.

U.S. Institutions Ranked By Public Trust

1. The military
2. Small business
3. The police
4. Organized religion or the church
5. The medical system
6. The Supreme Court
7. The Presidency
8. Public schools
9. The criminal justice system
10. Newspapers
11. Banks
12. Television news
13. Labor
14. Big Business
15. HMO’s
16. Congress