Government & Happiness

Are people happier when they are ruled by a smaller government? The blog, Big Government and Happiness, mentions that countries such as Japan, Spain, South Korea, Norway, and Finland have the lowest government spending, and gives reference to research that attempts to measure the correlation between this statistic and happiness. Firstly, I don’t know if scientific or accounting methods are capable of measuring a person’s happiness. Sure we can give point values to certain amenities and physical items, but is it possible to say that these things make people happy? Second, does government spending really contribute that much to a person’s outlook on life? If you take into consideration government religious policies, restricted freedoms, etc., along with government spending, I think that the argument can hold its ground. However, correlating happiness with spending alone does not hold much water in my opinion.