What is government's role?

In today's WSJ.com, Milton Friedman discusses how the non-defense spending by the US government has changed since the end of WWII. He rightly points out that while Socialism, in the true sense of the word, has been all but been eliminated as a government of choice throughout the world, in practice, the US is very close to operating a socialistic welfare and regulatory state:

"In the first postwar decade, 1945 to 1955, government non-defense spending, federal, state and local, equaled 11.5% of national income, varying from a high of 16% in 1949 to a low of 8.5% in 1952. From then on, spending rose rapidly. By 1983, government non-defense spending reached 30% of national income, nearly triple the average amount in the first postwar decade. In addition, over the same period, government intrusion into business and private affairs exploded (a small sample: Medicare, Medicaid, Americorps, Head Start, Job Corps, EPA, OSHA, CPSC, LSC, EEOC). No doubt the growth of government was one reason for the shift in public opinion. Big government in practice proved less attractive than big government in prospect."