An assessment of 1) federal employment figures from 1962 to 2014 (excluding the military) and 2) year-upon-year increase in federal spending shows that 5 of the last 7 Democratic administrations shrank the federal government; while 5 of the last 7 Republican administrations grew it.
Republicans claim to be against “big government”. But it appears to be Democratic presidential administrations that actually deliver smaller government. This can be seen in assessments using readily available data for federal employment, and the year-upon-year change in federal spending.
Why these two measures? Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/... defines big government.
“Big government is primarily defined by its size, measured by the number of employees or budget, either in absolute terms or relative to the overall national economy. The size of government can also be reckoned by the number of "spheres of involvement". The concept can also be defined by the perceived role of government in society, the quality of services (that is, the impact of government effort), and the degree of democracy and societal representation.”
Thus this assessment tackles the first and second measures of big government—the number of federal employees (excluding the military) and the percentage increase in federal spending year-upon-year. Other “measures” mentioned will be far more challenging to assess.
Federal Employment
Democratic presidential administrations reduce federal employment. Of the past fourteen 4-year administrations—from Kennedy to Obama—data from the federal Office of Personnel Management https://www.opm.gov/... show that Democratic administrations reduced the number of federal employees in 5 of 7 administrations (including the current Obama administration for years 2013 and 2014). The same data set shows Republican administrations increased the number of federal employees in 5 of 7 administrations.
1961-1964 D Kennedy/Johnson -14,000
1965-1968 D Johnson +554,000
1969-1972 R Nixon -190,000
1973-1976 R Nixon/Ford +18,000
1977-1980 D Carter -7,000
1981-1984 R Reagan +34,000
1985-1988 R Reagan +203,000
1989-1992 R Bush -30,000
1993-1996 D Clinton -236,000
1997-2000 D Clinton -145,000
2001-2004 R Bush +12,000
2005-2008 R Bush +42,000
2009-2012 D Obama +5,000
2013-2014 D Obama -35,000
Year-upon-Year Increase in Federal Spending
Democratic presidential administrations show a far lower average year-upon-year increase in federal spending than Republican administrations. Over the past fourteen administrations, the average increase (year upon year) of federal spending—perhaps the most important aspect of the federal budget to assess “big government”—for the last seven Democratic administrations is 5.90%. That same average for past seven Republican administrations is 7.97%. (Technical note—the transition quarter correction in 1976 is disregarded as is common practice—its purpose was to adjust the budget year to a new fiscal year.) Data for the analysis came from Table 1.1 at https://www.whitehouse.gov/...
1962 106,821 9.31% D Kennedy
1963 111,316 4.21% D Kennedy/Johnson
1964 118,528 6.48% D Johnson
1965 118,228 -0.25% D Johnson
1966 134,532 13.79% D Johnson
1967 157,464 17.05% D Johnson
1968 178,134 13.13% D Johnson
1969 183,640 3.09% R Nixon
1970 195,649 6.54% R Nixon
1971 210,172 7.42% R Nixon
1972 230,681 9.76% R Nixon
1973 245,707 6.51% R Nixon
1974 269,359 9.63% R Nixon/Ford
1975 332,332 23.38% R Ford
1976 371,792 11.87% R Ford
1977 409,218 3.34% D Carter
1978 458,746 12.10% D Carter
1979 504,028 9.87% D Carter
1980 590,941 17.24% D Carter
1981 678,241 14.77% R Reagan
1982 745,743 9.95% R Reagan
1983 808,364 8.40% R Reagan
1984 851,805 5.37% R Reagan
1985 946,344 11.10% R Reagan
1986 990,382 4.65% R Reagan
1987 1,004,017 1.38% R Reagan
1988 1,064,416 6.02% R Reagan
1989 1,143,743 7.45% R Bush
1990 1,252,993 9.55% R Bush
1991 1,324,226 5.69% R Bush
1992 1,381,529 4.33% R Bush
1993 1,409,386 2.02% D Clinton
1994 1,461,752 3.72% D Clinton
1995 1,515,742 3.69% D Clinton
1996 1,560,484 2.95% D Clinton
1997 1,601,116 2.60% D Clinton
1998 1,652,458 3.21% D Clinton
1999 1,701,842 2.99% D Clinton
2000 1,788,950 5.12% D Clinton
2001 1,862,846 4.13% R Bush
2002 2,010,894 7.95% R Bush
2003 2,159,899 7.41% R Bush
2004 2,292,841 6.16% R Bush
2005 2,471,957 7.81% R Bush
2006 2,655,050 7.41% R Bush
2007 2,728,686 2.77% R Bush
2008 2,982,544 9.30% R Bush
2009 3,517,677 17.94% D Obama
2010 3,457,079 -1.72% D Obama
2011 3,603,059 4.22% D Obama
2012 3,536,951 -1.83% D Obama
2013 3,454,647 -2.33% D Obama
2014 3,506,089 1.49% D Obama
In conclusion, if one simply looks at the data, it appears that the conventional wisdom that Republican administrations shrink government is simply wrong. The real “small government” results happen in Democratic administrations. It appears one could do any number of analyses and find similar or even more shocking outcomes. It appears that if one truly wants small government, a Democratic administration is the clear choice. And among all Democratic administrations, the two Clinton terms showed better results in shrinking government in terms of federal employment and reduced federal spending than any of the other 12 administrations in the modern era.