The Cause of Big Government

Ron Simpson over at Cluttered Eclectic Mind writes:

To justify more people, you need to offer more product, or in government's case, more services. It leads to the system to find other needs it can fill. This is known in corporate world as "growing the business." It is also the cause of the "Nanny State" mentality.

The other part that Ron didn't mention that I would add is the incentives of losses in the private sector that aren't a factor in government. In business, if a product is offered that nobody wants losses indicate that that business should stop offering that product. Otherwise, the company may face loss in profits, or even bankruptcy. There is no such incentive in government. In fact, once a government program gets started, it is, to paraphrase Reagan the nearest thing to eternal life on earth.