What are some reasons people might not have confidence in their government?

1- The U.S. blue-collar middle class has been in decline since at least 1975, and this decline has been accelerating since 2000. Many factors are at work, but one of the most visible is deindustrialization

2-A second issue sapping many Americans’ trust in their government is of generational inequities.

Those born in good times get advantages over those born in bad times. And those lucky generations have a stronger allegiance to a system that they benefited from.

3- The most profound economic and political change in the last 30 years is the rise of Wall Street.

The financial sector is arguably now bigger, richer and more powerful than ever before. Yet as its hold over the political system increases, its interests diverge from those of Main Street or the real economy, an argument even a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund has made

Explanation:

answer; having the power of reprieve means being able to release people from punishment;