Maybe. Hopefully.

This chart from economist Mark Skousen, author of The Making of Modern Economics, shows the worldwide surge in the size of government over the past 150 years. In 1900,  governments accounted for a little more than 10% of total output, and that number peaked during Covid to about 50%.

It is interesting that the periods of pauses in government growth in the U.S. have tended to be the most prosperous times. This includes the roaring 20s, the Reagan ’80s, and the 1990’s with the Clinton declaration that the “era of big government is over.”

There is one hopeful sign that the post-COVID era is seeing a slight retreat in the size of government. Trump could and should lead this new era.