My reading of the data — from the public taken as a whole, not smaller segments of the population — suggests that Americans want to see a big-picture, systematic overview of the type of structural and procedural changes that would make government better, taking into account all viewpoints.

This would include not an either-or approach to the role of government, but rather an approach that addresses the possible things government should or should not be doing and addresses (and debates) what the government’s role should be relating to each item. The signs that President Trump, or other elements of government for that matter, are moving in this direction are not strongly evident at this time. Politicians appear to be maintaining narrow reference groups rather than the broader reference standards that might be more conducive to solving what the people define as the nation’s top problems.