Go Big Every Time. Also Prevent Losses
In President Trump’s second term, he has been moving fast. He is already passing the overall total numbers of executive orders of Bush, Obama, and himself in his first term, and he looks set to easily pass the overall total of the Biden presidency.
Trump’s executive orders, although limited in overall extent, have been substantive starts in such areas as government efficiency, energy, and immigration.
We need Trump to not respect judges’ attempts to grab the executive power we have delegated to him to use on our behalf.
And we need more of the same. Much more.
Bring On Good Executive Orders
Executive orders that enforce the Constitution and constitutional statutes are exactly what we need given the current congress’s and the next congress’s compositions.
Both now and after the 2026 mid-terms, both houses will consist of large Democratic minorities that are highly Progressive, plus pluralities of Republicans who are moderately to highly Progressive. Together, they form Progressive supermajorities, which we see in action on every budget bill.
Progressive majorities won’t pass anything that’s substantial and good. It’s a strategic error to think that any more-constitutionalist president should be measured by how thoroughly such Progressives enact his recommendations on legislation, and to think that any good statutes would be permanent.
Instead, presidents have the duty to independently interpret constitutionality and only take actions that they interpret are constitutional. These will become lasting, but through a different process than most people envision.
If a president’s actions are right and extensive, they will severely limit governments. This will be popular from the start, and this will bring better results relatively quickly.
A president who severely limits governments will remain popular. Successors who do the same will remain popular. Regardless of whether the president or good successors are impeached and removed, the voters will get to keep returning others who will continue.
In time, new legislators will arrive as reinforcements. That will be when these presidents’ recommendations on legislation will finally get enacted as laws. And starting then, these laws will in fact endure—for a generation at least; and if they limit governments severely enough, then for much longer.
Go Big or Go Home
Fast, extensive change is always best for freedom. This was demonstrated well after the collapse of the Soviet Union, as summarized in the figure.
Figure. Economic freedom of different groups of nations after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Figure: James Anthony. Data: Oleh Havrylyshyn et al.
If a change is initially for the best, then fast, extensive change delivers the greatest overall impact and benefits. In addition, i
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LewRockwell.com is a libertarian website that publishes articles, essays, and blog posts advocating for minimal government, free markets, and individual liberty. The site was founded by Lew Rockwell, an American libertarian political commentator, activist, and former congressional staffer. The website often features content that is critical of mainstream politics, state intervention, and foreign policy, among other topics. It is a platform frequently used to disseminate Austrian economics, a school of economic thought that is popular among some libertarians.
