The shrinking of the bureaucratic power is long overdue. Better to rip the bandaid.
Discussion
Big tech, big pharma, big oil, etc will be very quick to fill that power vacuum. I'm not sure that will be a win for most people
If a government gets sufficiently smaller to the point they can’t make handouts and subsidies left and right, it will actually help break monopolies and oligopolies down and competitors will emerge that will help in bringing prices down and quality of services up. The main reasons for government’s existence should be protecting property rights and individual liberties, upholding law and punishing fraud and taking care of security (law enforcement & military for self defence). The rest can be figured out by the market, based on merit and voluntary exchange.
I totally agree with you, let's be clear on that. However, the preconditions for that to happen are good laws and enforcement of these by a strong independent judiciary.
I'm afraid in the current context these conditions are far from met. Nobody will be able to hold Musk accountable for anything, let alone Trump. They're literally breaking the constitution already and cancelling bills passed by Congress. Power typically doesn't reign itself back in...
Sure, I have no illusions that one administration will be enough to make this a reality. A huge societal change is needed that will probably require decades to take shape and evolve. But I think it’s a promising start that such policies are actually popular. I always thought I’d never see a day that such a huge cultural shift is possible in so little time. Most people are statists that are taught from the start to believe government is there for their benefit, to solve all of their problems and take care of their mistakes. It’s refreshing to see at least a little change in that regard. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t like Elon. I’m not a diehard fan of Trump either. They both have serious issues. But there are no perfect solutions, only tradeoffs. Much of the laws passed by congress have been passed without any regard for the constitution. One of them in particular comes to mind - the one that created the Fed.