When Americans asked the government to come up with economic solutions for the Covid pandemic, it was a disaster. The government gave out money via unemployment programs without basic fraud checks, resulting in hundreds of billions of dollars going to overseas fraudsters. The program to give money to businesses did not have intelligent means testing, resulting in hundreds of billions more being wasted on companies that did not need it.
When Americans asked for solutions to drug overdoses and drug problems, we got the war on drugs. The war on drugs was lost before it began and resulted directly in a steady increase in illegal drugs coming in to the US, and it funded several narco-states.
When Americans asked for solutions to poverty, we got massive government handouts that kept generations of people poor.
When Americans asked for solutions to racism, the government came up with openly racist policies like Affirmative Action and racist quotas in government hiring and contracting.
When Americans asked for solutions to 9/11, we got the dystopian monster called Homeland Security and the TSA taking away many of our freedoms. We got mired in unending wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that funnelled trillions into the corrupt military industrial complex.
When Americans asked for ways to encourage inventors, we got the patent system. The patent system allows patent trolls to squat on stupid ideas collecting insane rents and prevent progress in many fields.
When Americans asked for safer medicine, we got the American Medical Association trade union limiting seats in medical schools so the limited supply leads to worse care and spiraling prices.
When Americans asked for high quality free education for our youth, we got the public school system. The public school system has seen technology advance light years over the last hundred years, but our schools still look nearly identical to what was set up a century ago. Our students test results steadily drop compared to our international peers. Administration and teachers unions gobble up the money meant for kids. The technology that is used in classrooms is almost always a decade or two or three late, but the government pays full price for crap in a pork barrel giveaway.
Remind me again why we keep asking the government for solutions to our problems instead of shrinking the government so we can solve our own problems?
Update from a friend: I read your post. I think Elon said it best. “The government should be a referee and not a player”.