Boutique Liberalism.

• Author: Bresler, Robert J.

MORE THAN FOUR YEARS AGO, Pres. Clinton proclaimed that "the era of big government" is over. Whether or not that is true, it has been a long era. In 1947, the first full year of postwar demobilization, government outlays (Federal, state, and local) consumed about 21% of the Gross National Product. By 1999, these outlays had grown to 31% of GNP. As Christopher DeMuth recently noted in Commentary, "The Federal government owns one-third of the American land mass, pays for 40 percent of medical care, manages nearly 50 percent of personal retirement savings, and regulates many major industries."

Nor do these figures tell the whole story. Since World War II, government regulations concerning the environment, consumer protection, occupational health and safety, medical care, educational practices, and employment have brought a degree of Federal micromanagement into areas unheard of even during the height of the New Deal. Federal rules and regulations are a permanent part of the jobs of college athletic directors, personnel managers, medical practitioners, plant managers, and academic department heads.

When Clinton made his ringing declaration, he may have left the impression that he and Congress could agree to stop the growth of government or even prune it back a bit. Clinton and the Republican Congress did reduce the growth rate of Federal expenditures somewhat, and, after Clinton's health care fiasco, the nation has seen no grandiose plans for major governmental initiatives. Following Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal and Lyndon Johnson's Great Society, Clinton has given the Democratic Party and reform a pale third act. However pale the act may be, though, he has made it an important part of the story of government's growth.

Rather than advocate the sweeping dramatic measures that Roosevelt and Johnson loved, Clinton has introduced a concept of "boutique liberalism." These are small steps that do not make a large dent in the budget right away, but awaken and stimulate the public appetite for additional government services. His proposals for 100,000 new local police, 100,000 new teachers, a patient bill of rights, expansion of health insurance to 5,000,000 more uninsured Americans, and prescription drag benefits under Medicare have all gained public support and put the Republican Congress on the defensive.

In addition, there has been the use of the government's regulatory system and the attendant legal threat to bring errant industries into line. The...