If government were perfect, I'd be on Art's side. But it ain't, so I ain't.

Government, by its nature, attracts a certain type of person, and the people it attracts are not always (I hesitate to say "never") the best people to run a government. At the top are the power freaks on ego trips and at the bottom are officious busybodies (my experience is with UK governments, but from what I gather, similar things apply in the US). They've all got two things in common, however:

1) they all want to increase their sphere of influence, so government always tends to expand, and

2) they all love spending (my!) money, so taxes always tend to increase.

While government is imperfect (ie until hell freezes over) and while it limits my freedom and takes my money, the smaller the better. And quis custiodet ipsos custodes?