Earlier quoted context omitted.
The idea that we will end up in a Dickensian (or Somalian) nightmare if we were to reduce the size of the government by any substantial degree (80%? 50%? 20%?) is patently absurd and, hopefully, self-refuting.
Hi. which 80, 50, or 20%?
To hear people talk you'd think that any amount of reduction would lead to Somalia.
However, history tells us that even when the federal government is 1/8th the size it is today (as a percent of GDP) the US does not turn into Somalia, not even a little bit.