Alberto (https://github.com/golang/go/issues/81639#issuecomment-58553...) found only a 75kB difference between the 'bloat' and your proposed patch in a stripped binary; and Roland (https://github.com/golang/go/issues/81639#issuecomment-58402...) contended:

> the symbols in your tester2 program account for ~67kb out of a 2.3mb binary

OP did find a "600k difference" in an unstripped comparison but if binary size was critical enough that 600k was a big deal, I'd assume users would be stripping the binaries outright or using a different language (tinygo perhaps) if a <100kb diff was on their list of concerns.