Big government

This article is about the form of government. For the political website, see Breitbart News § Big Government. For for the basketball player with the nickname, see Reggie Jackson (basketball, born 1990).

Big government is a term that refers to a government or public sector that is considered excessively large or unconstitutionally involved in certain areas of public policy or the private sector.

The term may also be used specifically concerning government policies that attempt to regulate private or personal matters such as private sexual behavior or individual food choices^[1] – similar to the British term 'nanny state'. The term has also been used in the context of the United States to define a dominant federal government that seeks to control the authority of local institutions – an example being the overriding of state authority in favor of federal legislation.^[2]

Definition

Big government is primarily defined by its size, measured by the budget or number of employees, either in absolute terms or relative to the national economy.^[3][4]

See also

• Corporate welfare
• Limited government
• Lemon socialism
• Managerial state
• Night-watchman state
• Small government
• Social engineering (political science)
• Socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor
• Statism
• Too big to fail
• Welfare state