Government spending as a percent of GDP
Sorry, it's still a feeble excuse. What I want to hear is what the government is spending over twice the amount of money on today than they were in 1974. This is the smoking gun of government waste. The fact that we have a much more prosperous economy makes the rampant growth of government even more suspicious. Shouldn't prosperity be reducing the need for government support, not increasing it? Could it be (gasp!) that our government is spending money on things that aren't really essential, other than to buy votes?
I would be just as suspicious if someone told me Bill Gates spent the same percentage of his income on groceries as I do.