I’ve seen a few posts here on Hexbear where people lament their taxes being used for things they don’t like. I get the sentiment, but I think it’s mistaken because it’s not a zero-sum equation where the state must have a monetary revenue equal to or greater than expenditure.
In a state with monetary sovereignty, the taxes citizens pay are not what enables the state to spend money and procure weapons etc. If US citizens paid a billion less in taxes, for example, it would make no difference for military spending.
It’s also a rhetorical mistake in that it plays into right wing framing that justifies austerity, and implies the idea that the wealthy who pay more in taxes are the ones who keep society running and support the poor.
I agree, complaining about taxes in the way you describe is
especially in the US where the government can fund itself through its exorbitant privilege of dollar printing and infinite debt. An economics understander can explain this better than me, but as I understand it, taxes in the US are more about controlling the volume and velocity of money in the domestic economy, with a healthy dose of class warfare mixed in. Even that is reductionist, because USians also pay taxes to state and local governments who do not have the direct ability to print dollars. So taxes do, at the state and local level, behave similarly to e.g. EU countries who necessarily must balance their budgets.
see also: Michael Hudson