William_T._Bianco,_David_T._Canon]_American_Polit

473

WHAT DO

THE FACTS

S AY?

Is the Federal Bureaucracy Too Big?

One of the most intense conflicts in American political life is over the size of the federal

government. Generally, Republicans say that the size of federal bureaucracy should be

reduced, while Democrats tend to favor increasing the size of government programs,

including adding more employees if needed. Has the size of government increased

over time?

2,250,000

2,500,000

2,750,000

3,000,000

3,250,000

1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011

Federal

employees

2017

• During the 2016 presidential campaign, candidate Donald Trump claimed
  that the size of the bureaucracy had significantly increased under President
  Obama. Does the data support this assertion?


• Since 1960, the size of the federal bureaucracy increased significantly during
  the 1960s and 1970s, then declined after about 1990. What political or histori-
  cal events explain these changes?

Think about it

Source: Based on Federal Reserve Bank,

St. Louis, “All Employees: Government:

Federal,” https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/

CES9091000001#0 (accessed 5/6/18).

The modern federal bureaucracy

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