This is another part of the New Right's message of morality. The view that the government was slowing down the economy but it was also acting without morals. In the New Right's philosophy the government's effort to a social safety net was breeding entitlement as a mindset. This became the governing philosophy, even for some Democrats, up until the present.

This is a direct response to the New Deal and the Great Society. From Roosevelt to Carter, we see that regardless of party most politicians saw the government as a vehicle to lift people up and stimulate the economy. Reagan's response is that the economy is stagnate because of the government. Things like the regulatory offices and public sector unions slowed down the economy and became targets of Reagan's policies.