December 13, 2011 10:31AM 

# “Liberalism’s Problem in One Graph” 

By [Ilya Shapiro](https://www.cato.org/people/ilya-shapiro) 

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That’s the title of [Ezra Klein’s blogpost](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/liberalisms-problem-in-one-graph/2011/08/25/gIQAVuVTqO_blog.html) last night. Americans are increasingly distrustful of Big Government, it seems (64% in 2011, up from 35% in 1965), as opposed to Big Business (26% versus 29%) and Big Labor (8% versus 17%). Here’s the graph:

![Media Name: Big-Govt1.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/Big-Govt1.jpg?itok=HVOBM6Po) 

Of course, given that Big Labor these days is mostly in the public sector, you can really add its total to that of Big Government. And given corporate subsidies, part of Big Business can be thrown in there too. In any event, sobering news for the Occupy Wall Street crowd, and surely an electorate for political candidates who want to shrink the size of government.

##### Related Tags 

[General](https://www.cato.org/general), [Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics) 

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