One of the most important debates during the Constitutional Convention in 1787 was about the power and size of government. One side of the debate thought that government should be powerful with control over most of the things that could affect people, and the other side of the debate thought that government should be small with power over only a very limited range of the most important things that could affect people. The result of that debate was a compromise that is the United States Constitution.

If the Founding Fathers could view the government of the United States today, which side of that debate would think that they won? Is government today exercising too much power over people or just enough power over people or not enough power over people? If you think that government is exercising too much power, cite some examples that you think indicate government exercising too much power. If you think that government is exercising just enough power, cite some examples of things that government is doing that it should be doing. If you think that government is not powerful enough, what else do you think government should be doing?

Please cite your references.