Take last night's debate, where President Obama and Mitt Romney rehashed a familiar two-point argument:

(1) Obama: I would like to raise taxes on income over $250,000.

(2) Romney: But you'll hurt small businesses.

When Romney and Obama go on about "small" businesses, they're not

strictly talking about size. They're talking about the way that

companies are legally organized -- partnerships, s-corporations, and

sole proprietorships that pass through their profits to their owners, who

then treat it as ordinary income on their taxes. The concern for small businesses sounds persuasive. After all, who doesn't want to protect small, vulnerable, but growing companies run by honest Americans whose income would be hurt by higher taxes?

In fact, the term small businesses is basically meaningless.