Big or small government?

Question

Should the government be a large and heavy power to assist the country and promote saftey or would the country just be better off taking care of most things without restrictions being in its way?

Answer 1

What determines the "size" of a government?
Is it the budget?...
Budget per capita?
Number of government workers?
Number of government workers per capita?
Is it the number of laws enacted?
Is it the types of laws enacted?
Is it the amount of money that goes to defense spending?... per capita?
Is it the amount of money that goes to domestic social programs?... per capita?

If you can tell me how to distinguish big from small aside from saying "large and heavy" I'll be able to express my ideas on the following:

1) By your definition the US government is...
2) I agree/disagree as to how you choose to define big and small...
3) I believe the US government should be either big/small....
I appreciate the question though.

Answer 2

I believe that the government should be "Big", because with big government the state is about to care for the "people." It is the government that should be responsible to involve itself in the formulation and implementation of laws and policies concerning civil rights, social justice and social welfare. Not private enterprise and monopoly's! And the government should have restrictions, because without them, they might find a way to abuse their power. However, these restrictions should also apply to safeguard our rights and liberty's!

Answer 3

Government should always be small. They should be there to assist when needed, but never be our crutch.

Answer 4

As small as can allow for national defense and economic prosperity.

Answer 5

NO. It should be as small as possible.