Chapter 4 showed that reforms to shrink government and expand markets in health care, education, and transportation ended up producing an expansion of government rules to sustain the new reliance on market allocations of resources, to protect citizens from the damage of market breakdowns, and to supply critical public goods. This chapter shows that this trend was not confined to these three arenas but rather appeared across a range of policy spheres and brought about substantial growth in government rule making, spending, and personnel. This pattern highlights a striking puzzle: conservative...

Chapter 4 showed that reforms to shrink government and expand markets in health care, education, and transportation ended up producing an expansion of government rules to sustain the new reliance on market allocations of resources, to protect citizens from the damage of market breakdowns, and to supply critical public goods. This chapter shows that this trend was not confined to these three arenas but rather appeared across a range of policy spheres and brought about substantial growth in government rule making, spending, and personnel. This pattern highlights a striking puzzle: conservative politicians and their allies reaped considerable political gain from assaulting government, and yet government continued to grow even in venues that were specifically targeted for deregulation and market expansion.