This year’s federal deficit is set to match the entire 1996 federal budget, adjusted for inflation. Despite such overwhelming spending, Democrats in Congress have proposed an unprecedented $3.5 trillion budget, in addition to the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that failed its first Senate vote last week.

For advocates of limited government, it’s easy to feel like the fight is over and the country is on the path to fiscal ruin. But such pessimism is unwarranted.

The profligate political culture that has infected Washington and many state governments isn’t an historical end point. Though voters tend to enjoy handouts, at least temporarily, they dislike the long-term economic consequences of excessive spending. Moreover, the imperious actions of governors amid the COVID-19 crisis have weakened voters’ support for unrestricted executive powers and the government’s education monopoly.

In response, policymakers, including in Pennsylvania, are moving against big government in the pandemic era.

Consider the present economic climate. As prices – including for housing, food, and fuel – precipitously increase, business owners and consumers alike are worried about inflation. President Joe Biden has responded by embarking on a futile attempt to distract from the obvious source of the problem: government spending and easy money.
 

At the same time, a recent New York Times poll shows that 52% to 71% of Americans support ending the $300-per-week extra unemployment pay from Washington. Even today, months after communities fully reopened, too many Americans remain out of work while the federal government continues to subsidize unemployment. But Americans instinctively dislike anti-work policies. Now, state governments are reinstating work-search requirements; 26 states have even rejected federal unemployment supplements.

Meanwhile, as families endured a year of locked classrooms – especially in public school districts – there is a renewed interest in educational choice. As it stands, more than a dozen states have either created or expanded education-choice programs following the pandemic, with more states poised to act soon.

Even in my home state of Pennsylvania, where Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf is a teachers’ union favorite, legislation that increases tax-credit scholarships for thousands of low-income students is now law.

The fact that states are moving quickly to adjust their education policies to support families, rather than school bureaucracies, is another encouraging shift toward limited government.

States like Pennsylvania are also pushing against unbridled gubernatorial powers. In the past, Republicans and Democrats criticized executive overreach when the opposing party was in power. Both parties, however, rarely moved to restore a separation of powers. Over time, this longstanding deterioration of checks and balances favored more executive control.