Public now divided in views of size and scope of government % who say they would rather have
As Congress faces an April 28 deadline to fund government operations, the public is now split in their general preferences on the size and scope of government: 48% say they would rather have a bigger government providing more services, while 45% prefer a smaller government providing fewer services.
This marks the first time in eight years that as many Americans have expressed a preference for a bigger as a smaller government. Support for bigger government has increased 7 percentage points since last September, when more said they preferred a smaller government offering fewer services (50%) than a bigger government providing more services (41%). The last time the public was divided on this question was in October 2008, just prior to the election of Barack Obama.
Public now divided in views of size and  | scope of government  | % who say they would rather have  | Smaller government,  | fewer services  | 50  | 48  | 45  | 40  | Bigger government,  | more services  | 1976 1982 1988 1994 2000 2006 2012 2017  | Notes: Data prior to 1997 from LA Times ABC/Washington Postand  | CBS/New York prior limes surveys Don'tknow ABC/Washington responses notshown.  | Source: Survey conducted April5-11 2017.  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER 