text: I'm not sure what all the reasons are, or if there is a way to untangle the problem.  Politicians act very much like commissioned salespeople I think.  They keep selling stuff we don't need.  Remember that many things ARE helped by centralization.  I, for one, believe that the entire world should be under the control of one government that imposes anti-murder laws, anti-theft laws, anti-rape laws, and anti-pollution laws, and possibly others.  Centralization improves standardization.  (crucial with the pollution issue)  Some projects cannot be attempted on the scale of the States, but can be accomplished by the central government.  NASA is a good example of this.  The armed forces, the intelligence agencies.  Since these are such a large part of what "the government" is, the government tends towards centralization.