Absolutely, and for most logos that's fine, however when you're the size of Google, controlling which version of your logo someone decides to use isn't easy. Sometimes it's better to assume that people are going to use your logo at sizes you didn't intend and in places you never expected, so having a bit of breathing room isn't a bad idea.

Having said that, I don't really expect Google would have chosen their current kerning simply so that it (potentially) downscales better - I'm sure they have more important criteria.