so when does the federal government get too big? When do we say enuff is enuff?
I'd say the Patriot Act/warrantless wiretapping stuff is govt being too big. The whole focus on standardized testing above all else is school is too Much of the other stuff the anti big govt types decry, I'm not really concerned with.
I take it on a case by case basis. I favor big government in the case of things suc as abolishing slavery, ending segregation, establishing suffrage for women and minorities, having a FEMA that'd do their fucking job, having an FDA that would actually properly test shit so that we can recall deadly food and over the counter medicines before people have to die.
Should there be limits on the reach of government? Sure. But you can go to the opposite extreme with that, such as internet darling Ron Paul, who voted against the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act, under the claim of "state's rights".