It's incremental. Government grows with each administration, and, like "sticky wages" in economics, you have "sticky big government". When power shifts to the other party they grow government in different areas, at different rates, but it is rare to cut anything once it's been established. As long as people are in the mindset that the government owes them, and must take care of every problem, the nanny state will only grow. Hence, we reap what we sow.