Goldilocks, line two. Maine has a question for you.

Is its Legislature too big, too small, or just right? A slew of bills introduced this session have posited this eternal question, which pits competing principles of finance, democracy, bureaucracy and efficiency into an argument that lacks a definitive answer.

It strikes us that, in reality, the size of the Legislature doesn’t matter. What is most important is that it governs effectively and responsibly, without growing so large as to become overly bureaucratic, but not so small as to be unable to give issues the scrutiny they deserve.

Either latter concern would be reasonable grounds for reconsidering the Legislature’s 186-member (35 senators, 151 representatives) size. Yet it often seems that ideology – not operation – forces the size question. Efforts to shrink the Legislature balance on feelings that it should be smaller.

Like from Rep. Patrick Flood of Winthrop, who has said publicly that he believes the Legislature should become smaller to lead by example, in tight fiscal times. While a noble sentiment, it’s not a convincing argument. Would a smaller Legislature save money, at the expense of governing less effectively?

If so, then pitch the notion in the trash. Maine needs a good government, not a cheap one.

Absent ideology, there are practical, data-driven reasons to question the size of Maine’s representative democracy. Compared to the rest of the states, Maine has a voluminous number of lawmakers vis-a-vis its population: 186 for 1.32 million people, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Now Connecticut, with more than 3.2 million people, has 187 – just one more than Maine, despite more than twice Maine’s population. Therein lies a question – is Maine’s Legislature too big? Or, conversely, is Connecticut’s too small? Only after examining the two quite closely could some conclusions be drawn.

Other varied examples abound. New Hampshire, Maine’s frequent foil when it comes to all things involving state government, has 400 lawmakers, the faraway national leader, with the same population. Meanwhile, Oregon – with 3.2 million people – has only 90.

Nationally, there is no consistent model. Being a big state doesn’t mean having a big legislature. Small states don’t necessarily have small legislatures. Each state has the legislature that it developed over many years from the popular sensibilities and unique needs of its residents and region.

So has Maine. Yes, its Legislature is too large by some standards, too small by others. But that’s a matter of personal opinion. The matter to explore is whether the Legislature is operating just right, and if not, a change in size could make it better.

Beliefs alone can’t answer this question. Neither, unfortunately, can Goldilocks.