Agreed! The outcomes of government are what matter to me. Many of the outcomes I expect like infrastructure, healthcare and education, take a lot of work to deliver. If the government is large to support these then so be it.

I'd also suggest that as the world gets more complex, governments should be getting larger. There are more facets to society that need understanding and regulating these days. I'd be alarmed if a government was shrinking under the conditions of population growth and high levels of technological advancement as that would suggest to me a dereliction of duty