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.
this is only true for federal policy and federal taxes.
smaller administrative designations (states/counties or provinces, etc) don’t print money and either don’t or rarely have a public bank they can use to finance public projects.
the quantity and quality of public services at the state, county/municipal level is very much tied to tax policy. the cops, the schools, the libraries, etc are all funded by local and state taxes with only occaisional injections of one-off federal grants to build capacity. but many public institutions are expected to pay for themselves through state/local taxes and fees for service.