Not what was intended? Hidden agenda? Some other reason?

Now that we are a year into Trump 2.0’s regime, we should ask (again and again) what is going on.

As lovers of liberty, we of course seriously applauded The Donald’s campaign pledge to roll back regulations. Even if it was too little, too late. Certainly much to be preferred over what Cammie would have done in a hyper-Woke Obama 4th administration, which seemed to be inevitable if the election of 2024 had gone the other way.

There was a great deal of hype and fond hopes being shared a year ago. Big promises, even some welcome political appointments, and more. Was The Donald really going to fling that round stone into the forehead of the Deep State?

Definitely, getting rid of tens of thousands of regulations would be a good thing.

Unfortunately as in other promises made, the way The Donald and his surrogates and deputies are going about it is depressing. Indeed, there are few good things that we can say about their effort.

So much so, that we ask, what was the real intent? Was it really to liberate Americans, their families, and companies from the heavy hand of the bureaucrats? Or was it just another example of the politicians’ rhetoric not matching (or even trying to match) reality? We are fairly certain that the default setting for politicians at all levels of government is lies and more lies. Is this because of the incompetence of Trump appointees? Or a victory of the very-strongly entrenched people and powers of the Deep State, the Permanent Bureaucracy? Are they sabotaging the effort? Or is the effort really just eyewash?

We must admit that there has been a reduction in the number of bureaucrats. And the number of new bureaucratic regulations and “guidelines.” Even some at the State level, and not just the FedGov. And there have been a few regulations repealed or changed.

But honestly? It is business as usual in most federal agencies. Certainly, nothing has been done to starve bureaucracy. And the number of regulations already in place on 20 January 2025 is pretty much unchanged. As some commentators have pointed out, even the small winnowing of the fedgov workforce has resulted in a deep loss in the ability to manage those regulations already in place.

But the special interests, the bureaucrats, and the courts are still capable of enforcing those regulations, generally by delay and refusal to do anything. And the fear of Americans that a court will order a jack-booted thug (with or without a gun) to show up and fine them to oblivion, destroy the market value of their company, tear their family apart, and even wound or kill them. And in this war on progress, the Deep Staters are aided and abetted by swarms of attorneys (especially those supposedly working for the people, families, or businesses) and local governments: sheriffs, town councils, homeowners associations, and county commissions.

So except for a few well-publicized outliers (examples: some mining and oil/gas permits), conditions are as bad or worse than in Uncle Joe’s time. And the States (not just the Blue ones) are full participants in this continuing assault, financial and social, on people. To put it bluntly, it isn’t just the jack-booted thugs busting heads and gunning down people in broad daylight that are a threat to what little liberty we have left.

For many of us, from private homeowners and owners/operators of “mom-and-pop” businesses, we have a nightmare as we try to operate in these conditions. Or even survive!

We agree with many of Trump’s calls on policies that are outdated, burdensome, and need to be gotten rid of. But that is not happening. So we are worse off.

But at the same time, we admit that there are likely hidden battles underway, and that it is as much the devoted efforts of the Deep State denizens as it is to incompetence on the part of Trump and company.

And we must disagree with at least one prominent geopolitical analyst.

What we do not need is a return to a fully-staffed, experienced staff to “regulate these systems and give clear guidance to those who need it.” Just like we do not need the bureaucratic review process that takes forever to edit regulations. What do we need? Not a spoon, not even a shovel, but one of those big 25-ton-capacity front-end loaders or backhoes. To go dig into and root out not just the bureaucrats and agencies, but the hundreds of thousands of pages and instructions for enforcement.

And that is not going to happen if we keep playing by the politician’s and the bureaucrat’s rulebook. We have to edify and encourage people to refuse to do what their “betters” tell them to. Not direct confrontation, and certainly not turning the other cheek for so major an assault.

We do not need regulatory reform. We need regulatory repeal. We don’t need to reduce fedgov manpower, or even to decimate it. We need to get rid of millions of them. Loving, kind, friendly, and helpful as they may be. They are destroying us, and we are letting them!