I agree with most of what you said, but this last part overlooks the reality that even some of the founders wanted the states indebted to the Federal government as a means of limiting their power. The central bankers started on day one trying to take over...
Travel being as difficult as it was, they reckoned back then that the Feds would have very little means of controlling the states without debt. It blows and I'm glad they were overruled by other founders who's opinions and actions I value much more, but it's import not to romanticize things too much as it just reenforces the idea that government can ever be good.
It cannot. It can only be small and a lesser evil to anarchy. That's as good as it gets and all anyone should ever expect/ask of it.