The question "can government be trusted" is long answered with a resounding NO it can not
Government like fire is a useful servant, but a fearful master.
This is why we have separation of powers, checks and balances, and a federalist system in the US, because we understand government can never, and should never be trusted.
Government is control, government is fear, government is power. Power Corrupts, and the only way to prevent that corruption is to deny power, to check power, to distribute power.
Ironically I view giving democratic governments more power as abandoning the weak to the whims of the majority, which we have seen time and time again in history even recent history
Democracy after all is 2 wolves and lamb voting on what is for dinner, a constitutional republic backed by distributed governance is the lamb having rights to tell the majority to f' off
Government like fire is a useful servant, but a fearful master.
This is why we have separation of powers, checks and balances, and a federalist system in the US, because we understand government can never, and should never be trusted.
Government is control, government is fear, government is power. Power Corrupts, and the only way to prevent that corruption is to deny power, to check power, to distribute power.