Give 'Em What They Don't Want.

• Author: Hinkle, A. Barton
• Position: FINAL WORD

Some years ago, an acquaintance of mine was asked by her sister if she would like ice in her drink. She said no. "You don't want ice in your drink?" the sister asked again, for clarity's sake. "No." "Are you sure?" "I'm sure. I don't want any ice." "Yes, you do," the sister retorted, filling the cup with ice.

This vignette encapsulates the relationship between Americans and government. Consistently, the public says it would like government to do less. Time and again, government responds by slashing budgets, furloughing employees, and closing down marginal and obsolete programs.

Ha! Of course, the government does no such thing. It just keeps growing bigger and doing more. Earlier this year, Gallup released a survey showing that Americans rank government as the No. 1 problem in the country, beating inflation, race relations, crime, and other pressing matters. Both Republicans and Democrats put government at the top of the problem list.

Granted, those results leave room for interpretation. Perhaps Americans consider government the biggest problem because it is not doing enough to tackle all the nation's other problems, such as crime and immigration (for Republicans) and poverty and racism (for Democrats). Maybe Americans want government to do less of what other people like and more of what they like. And, of course, one of the top things many Americans want government to not do is mess with Social Security and Medicare.

But still. Consider what Gallup noted two years ago:

Americans have shifted back to favoring a more hands-off approach for government in addressing the nation's problems after a rare endorsement of a more active role last year.... Last year marked only the second time in Gallup's 29-year trend that at least half of Americans endorsed an active role for the government.... The other pro-government response came in the weeks after the 9/11 terror attacks amid heightened concern about terrorism and a surge in trust in government. Likewise:

Americans' preference for a limited government role is also evident when they are asked to consider the trade-offs between taxes and government services. Given a choice, half of Americans say they prefer fewer government services and lower taxes, while 19% want higher taxes and more services.... In the five times Gallup has asked this question since 1993, the preference for lower taxes and fewer services has consistently prevailed. In other words, absent a global pandemic or a terrorist attack of...