In the 80’s, Ronald Reagan captured in a single, simple statement, the mantra of his brand of GOP Republicanism: “The Federal Government is too big, and it spends too much money.”
For much of the past 40 years, people who are Right of Center (RoC), have used this as an effective marketing tool, yet have used it ineffectively in governance. RoC politicians never made the government less big, in part, because they never addressed the more fundamental and abstract question: What is the proper role of the Federal Government?
Within the context of this optic, when is a government “too big”? Likewise, if Government spends too much, then how much should it spend? This article will tackle the former and save the latter for another time.
If the answer to the “ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything” is defined as the number “42” (see the movie The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) then the much simpler question of “When is government too big?”, should have an equally simple answer.
For America, as a constitutional republic, and Americans as a People, the number is 18.
The number 18 derives from Article 1, Section 8 of the US Constitution. Enumerated powers bound and limit the Federal government to specific delineated powers, 18 in total.
When the federal government takes actions, enacts policies, or establishes institutions beyond the explicit powers granted by the Constitution—known as “extra-constitutional” actions—it risks expanding its authority without proper checks and balances. This overreach threatens individual freedoms and undermines the limited government framework the Founders intended.
For decades, the federal government has grown far beyond its constitutional boundaries, becoming bloated, inefficient, and wasteful. Agencies and programs never explicitly authorized by the Constitution now wield enormous power, creating bureaucratic layers that drain taxpayer money and slow decision-making. Instead of adhering to the Founders’ vision, the government has inserted itself into education, healthcare, housing, and countless other areas meant to be left to the states or private sector. This unchecked expansion has resulted in excessive regulation, inefficiency, and a loss of both individual liberty and state sovereignty, eroding the very principles of limited government.
President and businessman Donald Trump is right to take a chainsaw to the overgrown federal bureaucracy. After decades of unchecked expansion, a scalpel won’t cut it—only bold, decisive action can clear the jungle of unnecessary government overreach.
If the federal government sheds these excess functions, who should take responsibility? The answer is simple and clearly outlined in the Tenth Amendment of the Bill of Rights: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” It’s time to restore that balance and return power to where it rightfully belongs.
In Ronald Reagan’s Executive Order #12612, he attempted “to restore the division of governmental responsibilities between the national government and the States that was intended by the Framers of the Constitution”. President Trump’s flurry of activities, reducing the size and scope of the federal government, is the initial down payment on Ronald Reagan’s vision of his amazingly simple statement: “The Federal Government is too big, and it spends too much money.”
Warner Workman is a retired intelligence officer and descendant of a colonial patriot.
