big government
Expansive state control
Big government is a pejorative term for extensive federal involvement in citizens' lives—through regulation, taxation, social programs, and bureaucracy.
Critics invoke it to argue that government overreaches: Big government wants to tell you what to eat.
The phrase frames state intervention as inherently excessive, contrasting with ideals of limited government and individual liberty.
Government-funded public services
- safety netProtection against failure
- entitlementsLegally guaranteed benefits
- food stampsSubsidized grocery purchasing vouchers
- MedicaidPublic health coverage for poor
Medicare · social security · public housing · unemployment benefits · disability · public assistance · subsidies · welfare state
Amount still owed
- national debtGovernment's accumulated borrowing
- budgetPlan for spending
- entitlementsLegally guaranteed benefits
- appropriationsDesignated funds for purposes
pork barrel · earmarks · stimulus · bailouts · subsidies · trillion · discretionary spending · mandatory spending
Bureaucratic obstacles to action
- paperworkAdministrative written tasks
- agenciesOrganizations providing services
- departmentsSubdivisions of an organization
- civil serviceGovernment's administrative workforce
regulations · forms · procedures · compliance · administration · public servants · officialdom · bloat
Supervision or inadvertent omission
- rulesPrinciples governing behavior
- restrictionsLimitations on action
- mandatesAuthoritative commands or requirements
- licensingGranting official permission
permits · enforcement · red tape · environmental regulations · safety standards · labor laws · zoning · building codes
Central government's regulatory power
- WashingtonU.S. seat of government
- top-downDirected from highest level
- consolidationCombining into unified whole
- central planningGovernment directs all production
federal overreach · one-size-fits-all · federal authority · unitary · headquarters · capital · beltway
Amount owed to government
- IRSFederal tax collector
- revenueBusiness income total
- income taxGovernment charge on earnings
- tax bracketsIncome-based percentage groupings
withholding · tax code · progressive taxation · payroll tax · estate tax · capital gains tax · corporate tax · tax increases
social programs
Government-funded public services
- safety netProtection against failure
- entitlementsLegally guaranteed benefits
- food stampsSubsidized grocery purchasing vouchers
Medicaid · Medicare · social security · public housing · unemployment benefits · disability · public assistance · subsidies · welfare state · benefits
deficit
Amount still owed
- national debtGovernment's accumulated borrowing
- budgetPlan for spending
- entitlementsLegally guaranteed benefits
appropriations · pork barrel · earmarks · stimulus · bailouts · subsidies · trillion · discretionary spending · mandatory spending · debt ceiling
red tape
Bureaucratic obstacles to action
- paperworkAdministrative written tasks
- agenciesOrganizations providing services
- departmentsSubdivisions of an organization
civil service · regulations · forms · procedures · compliance · administration · public servants · officialdom · bloat · inefficiency
oversight
Supervision or inadvertent omission
- rulesPrinciples governing behavior
- restrictionsLimitations on action
- mandatesAuthoritative commands or requirements
licensing · permits · enforcement · red tape · environmental regulations · safety standards · labor laws · zoning · building codes · antitrust
federal control
Central government's regulatory power
- WashingtonU.S. seat of government
- top-downDirected from highest level
- consolidationCombining into unified whole
central planning · federal overreach · one-size-fits-all · federal authority · unitary · headquarters · capital · beltway
tax burden
Amount owed to government
- IRSFederal tax collector
- revenueBusiness income total
- income taxGovernment charge on earnings
tax brackets · withholding · tax code · progressive taxation · payroll tax · estate tax · capital gains tax · corporate tax · tax increases · fiscal policy
- political buzzwordswoke, wokeness, virtue signaling, virtue signal, dog whistle
- Statismstatism, centralization, centralized power, central authority, state control
- political ideologiesconservatism, conservative, anarchism, liberalism, liberal
- authoritarianismautocracy, absolutism, despotism, dictatorship, totalitarianism
- campaign jargonstump speech, talking points, sound bites, soundbite, soundbites
- conservatismconservative, traditionalism, fiscal conservative, free enterprise, family values
big governmentsmall government
Minimal state authority philosophy
limited government · laissez-faire · decentralization · deregulation · privatization
big governmentfree market
Commerce without state intervention
laissez-faire economics · free enterprise · capitalism · market economy · private sector
big governmentindividual liberty
One's own protected rights
personal freedom · self-reliance · rugged individualism · voluntarism · civil society
government, governor, governing, governed, governance, governmental, intergovernmental, nongovernmental, antigovernment