Chapter 2: The Growth of Government

Savas discusses four pressures that cause government to grow. First, demographic changes cause increased public demands. Second, public desire to ratify social ills or to preserve existing social programs. Third, demands of service providers such as government itself, caused by political imperatives, government monopolies, employee voting. Fourth, as a consequence of inefficiency such as overstaffing, overpaying, overbuilding. Because government caves in to these pressures, Savas concludes that its actions can no longer be synonymous with serving the public interest.