Sorry. Look in a mirror. It's the voters who got power-hungry. The ability to use the government's legal power of force to serve our own ends is very appealing, and operates at all levels, from the poorest citizen to the richest corporation.

"I can get this service for free." "I can make someone else build that bike path." "I can make someone else feed the hungry." "I can make someone else pay for my science grant/artwork/you-name-it." "I can use legal means to stiff my competition." "I can funnel taxpayer money into my company." The list is almost endless.

The government's prime function has become the distribution of wealth and power in order to further enhance the power of the government.

We got the government we asked for: a government of legal hired thugs we can use to do things we would never do in a million years if it was just us dealing directly with our fellow citizens. I might ask my neighbor for help with medical costs. Imagine doing it with a gun.