[malandrew]

> those are all examples of our government's power shrinking!

No they aren't. They are examples of the government's power growing and being manipulated. There's no power to manipulate if the government stays small.

So many of our problems today are the result of a government that is so large and powerful that it is more profitable to direct resources to lobbying instead of directing resources to providing better goods and services. When government is small, there is less incentive to corrupt it.