“There are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.”

—James Madison (1788)

James Madison understood the dangers of a federal bureaucracy, and the Administrative State, 135 years before Woodrow Wilson started our current leftward swing in 1911.

In fact, our Founding Fathers understood the mechanism by which a tyrant holds power.  For this reason, our founders created a Constitution specifically written to protect the individual from central control, including the tyranny of the majority over the minority. 

This is the argument Trump and company should be making, but they are not.  He is doing the work; he should articulate why.

For over 100 years, Americans have been stewing in the misperception that government is the solution to any and all problems, even when the evidence is overwhelming that not only can government not solve problems, but it is the source of greater problems.  Yet we persist in this misperception.  We unconsciously rely on a rule or regulation to protect us, thereby abdicating our personal responsibility for self-preservation and empowering a regulator to do our thinking for us.

Right-sizing of government is the objective behind DOGE.  But the only thing we hear from Trump and Musk is that they are firing people.  And the mainstream media drive that part of the message home with their heartrending stories of displaced government employees.  We are letting the left create the message, unaware or uncaring of the consequence. 

The federal government has grown far too large, with far too many powers that were never granted it.  Government regulators have become unaccountable to the people they serve, the citizen.  This is why our Constitution allows only those who have to stand for election by the people, the Congress, to pass laws and assess fines.  Every two, four, or six years, we citizens can fire them.

After President Wilson’s creation of the Administrative State, any federal bureaucrat has the same power.  That is what Trump and Musk are fighting, but they can’t tame the beast alone.  Every citizen has to keep government limited.

I’m grateful that Trump and Musk are trying.  But Trump doesn’t address the greater reason for his vilification.  I wish he would actively use the bully pulpit to explain his deeper meaning: the principle of limited government.  He is doing the right thing, but he is not articulating the deeper understanding behind his actions.

The message is as old as our nation.  We must have limited government, controlled by the rule of law, the Constitution.  Take the time to explain the deeper principle that drives these actions.  We need a broader base of all citizens to help stand watch over excessive government.

Jay Davidson is founder and CEO of a commercial bank.  He is a student of the Austrian School of Economics and a dedicated capitalist.  He believes there is a direct connection joining individual right and responsibility, our Constitution, capitalism, and the intent of our Creator.

Image: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center via Flickr, CC BY 2.0 (cropped).