Why has government gotten so big? This bears repeating. A certain small percentage of the population is born with an insatiable thirst for power. Although no one recognizes it for what it is, these people become identifiable at an early age. In a preschool class, one or two children can be seen bossing the others and assuming a right to decide who plays games and how the games are played. Children such as these grow up to be the adults who run for office.
In the old days when power was a birthright none of this made much difference. With the appearance of democracy, a platform was provided where these kinds of folks can compete for power. The thirst for power as a motivating source is equal in force to the profit motive.
So, how do the power thirsty compete for power? They gain favor by having government do things for the people who get them elected. They convince people that government can take a weight off of their backs by doing for them what they would otherwise have to do for themselves.
Government now performs so many functions that you might say that government is now doing all that it is possible for government do. But, the competition for power continues. Now politicians must promise to have government do thing that government cannot do. Where the economy is concerned, this makes for a very inefficient allocation of resources.
The problem here is that Americans are oblivious to this process. Americans falsely believe that candidates for office identify with their needs and will take office and try to help them. Candidates actually can be of service to constituents but that is an incidental outcome. Gaining power and managing the affairs of others is a genetic compulsion in those who are born with a thirst for power. Elected officials do whatever contributes to their keeping and gaining power which means more government. Other motivations are secondary.

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