YOU THINK GOVERNMENT IS TOO BIG?

We hear the comment often that government is getting too big. It seems this concern is not new. The following is taken from a book published in 1974 by the Hoover Presidential Library Association. The title of the book is Herbert Hoover, the Uncommon Man.

“The steady growth in the size of government has long disturbed Presidents, Congressmen, and American Statesmen. Repeated efforts have been made to slow it down and make it more efficient and manageable. In the late 19th century two committees attempted the task. In the early 20th century two more committees tried. In the 1920’s and again in 1936-37 attempts were made to cut down the ever-increasing size of government. For the most part these efforts were ineffective, mainly because there was no public support.

The most serious and far reaching studies were the two commissions headed by Herbert Hoover, 1947-1949 under President Truman, and 1953-1955 under President Eisenhower. Many recommendations of the first Hoover Commission were implemented and great economies realized, only to be wiped out by the Korean War. The recommendations of the second Hoover Commission are largely dormant, again through lack of public support.” end