A new era of big government?

Gallup’s September Governance poll each year includes a general question asking about the optimal role of government. The latest update shows that 54% of Americans say the government should do more to solve our country’s problems, while 41% say the government is trying to do too many things that should be left to individuals and businesses. This is the highest percentage choosing the “government should do more” option since Gallup began asking the question in 1992.

A major concern for those who are worried about big government is a ballooning deficit, but I can’t find evidence to suggest that is a big issue for Americans at this point. Indeed, if the deficit is a concern, Americans appear to be willing to increase government income with elevated taxes on high-income families and with a wealth tax on “ultra-millionaires,” as proposed by Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.

Plus, it is worth reiterating that the American public has for a long time been quite accepting of government intervention in our lives on a number of fronts. The American people appreciate Social Security (the No. 1 source of income for retired Americans) and admire the military (one of the biggest recipients of federal spending each year), and older Americans welcome their government-funded Medicare. And, by contrast, Americans historically have little interest in proposals for radically cutting back on the size and power of federal government. Before the 2016 election, for example, presidential candidate Ted Cruz and others advanced proposals for such things as eliminating entire government Cabinet departments, abolishing the Internal Revenue Service, cutting back on government hiring, and requiring that government regulations be eliminated before new regulations could be put in place. Well less than half of Americans agreed with any of these proposals.