What happens when the American people lose confidence or trust in public institutions?

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There is a discussion going on, I think, behind the curtain about the fact that the American people increasingly have lost confidence in many different American institutions - Congress, banks, the courts, even the political system itself.

So I'm just curious - if you are a member of one of these powerful institutions - why should you care whether Americans have confidence in you to be effective or fair? Power and justice aren't correlated. You bark "jump!" and Americans say, "how high?" (or at least, that's how the relationship has been working). Why shouldn't it continue working that way, no matter how much Americans resent it?