Do the phrases "big government" and "small government" really mean anything?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

No. They are just meaningless buzz phrases. The very idea that government "size" can be objectively measured itself is beyond idiotic.

[PJ]

Not in the context they're used.

[opebo]

They do mean something - not that the size of the government is different, but about what the parts are used for.  In the 'small government' case, large portions of the State are operated by aristocrats as fiefdoms - this are misnamed 'private corporations'.  In the 'big government' case, things are slightly less bad.

[Antonio the Sixth]

For once, I couldn't agree more with BRTD.

[ElectionsGuy]

They're used as political catch phrases. However, it is possible to grow government and shrink government (in complexity). How you want to measure that is up to you though.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

About as much as "The War On _________" really means anything.

[Person Man]

They're used as political catch phrases. However, it is possible to grow government and shrink government (in complexity). How you want to measure that is up to you though.

But that's really just things being done right issue, not a "size" issue.

They do mean something - not that the size of the government is different, but about what the parts are used for.  In the 'small government' case, large portions of the State are operated by aristocrats as fiefdoms - this are misnamed 'private corporations'.  In the 'big government' case, things are slightly less bad.

....and Torie still had the audacity to give us an article comparing California to a feudal society. Was that writer projecting?

[Antonio the Sixth]

They're used as political catch phrases. However, it is possible to grow government and shrink government (in complexity). How you want to measure that is up to you though.

True. The problem is thinking that the sheer size of government itself is in any way relevant to policy discussion.