Perhaps you are like me and have conservative friends who repeatedly mention the mantra of the benefits of smaller government. In their minds, most, if not all, governments are, in fact, bloated bureacracies where hard-earned taxpayer dollars are squandered for unnecessary programs and for adminstrative functions. As with all narratives, whether with liberal or conservative ideological leanings, this one seems to be limited by its absolute view of government and its lack of faith in government to solve problems for individuals and communities.

If one were to create such a narrative of a pro-small government point of view, s/he could probably find evidence that the original founders of our country did have some notion that the government that governs least is the best. Jefferson himself mentions that the best government is a "mild" one, but much of this discourse is centered around the preservation of individual rights and not solely focused on creating a perpetual small government representative democracy.

Perhaps, if you're like me, you view government as also having the capacity to make up for inequalities in the private sector and as having the ability to provide opportunity to its citizens. "Small government" in itself does not seen like an ignoble goal, but a government that ignores the well-being of its citizens, as we've seen in recent years with the Katrina reaction on the federal level and the Bush administrations anti-consumer approach to health care, is a deleterious one. Jefferson, et al imagined a government that was efficient, but they would have been horrified to think that citizens in a democracy were suffering because of that same government and that the government would not act to redress that.

Hence, what do you think is wrong with the concept of "small government" from a political vantage? I wonder whether this isn't a conservative utopian ideal, where taxpayer money isn't needed to address a country's needs, and the private market is where the majority of investments go -- an ideal that is countered by the reality on the ground, that is, a government that, because of government ineffiency and inattention, denies basic human needs and rights to its citizens.