Scott Miller

The debate in the US about a “small” versus a “big” federal government is as old as the Republic (see Jefferson and Hamilton, among many others) and continues today. A “small” federal government is generally understood (at least by Republicans when they don’t hold the White House or are a minority in Congress) to mean a government with powers limited to those expressly granted in the Constitution and with as small a budget as possible. A “big” government is generally understood (at  least by Democrats when they hold the White House or are a majority in Congress) is generally understood to mean a government with expansive powers and a large budget. Since Joe Biden was elected President and the Democrats gained (a bare) majority control of both houses of Congress, some now think the era of “small” government (which supposedly was what we had under Trump and his recent Republican predecessors) is over and the era of “big” government is here again.

Can that conclusion be supported by the facts? Did we, in fact, have an era of “small” government under Trump? How much evidence is there that an era of “big” government has now begun and, if it has, how long is it likely to last? Do our circumstances today call for a “small” government or a “big” government? Why?

Here are links to a few recent articles that may be relevant to the discussion:

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/bidens-push-for-big-government-solutions-is-popular-now-but-it-could-backfire/

https://www.rollcall.com/2021/05/11/is-the-era-of-small-government-over/

https://reason.com/2021/05/08/the-era-of-small-government-is-over/?fbclid=IwAR2orr8KYWheWMqn_G2jAYUb7zHzZLR4XDCsUPixPJY5y1a5iqtX8OmpkQw

In observance of Memorial Day. See you next week.

In local government, we have the flexibility to define (or redefine) certain positions as requiring elected representatives and others as being available to government employees. What metrics should be used to decide whether to install a politician (elected) or bureaucrat (appointed or employee) for a given position?

This can be relevant, in particular, for positions that (we think) require substantial technical expertise—in the local context, think Road Commissioner or Treasurer.

Here are some resources provided by Becky W., who suggested the overall topic:

Professionals in government

Professional Leadership in Local Government (DeHoog & Whitaker, International Journal of Public Administration)

Education about the workings of democracy

Putting Democracy Back into Public Education (The Century Foundation, a progressive, independent think tank)

Question: How much responsibility do political parties have to educate the public about the democratic process?