Taxes, if not quite the price of civilisation, do give citizens a reason to care about efficient and effective government. Severing that connection, and leaving large chunks of the electorate as mere recipients of state largesse, risks deepening America’s political dysfunction.

We can't have nice things without paying for them. People who believe they are self-sufficient seem to ignore all the public infrastructure that keeps society and the economy moving (e.g. roads, emergency response/firefighters, schools, parks, libraries, etc).

Imagine how much more entrepreneurial people could be if taking big big financial risks didn't have dire consequences like not having access to health care.

No one loves paying taxes, especially when you don't agree with ways it's spent, but that means we need to fix politics and spend money better rather than denying that society needs financial contributions from almost everybody to function.

> (e.g. roads, emergency response/firefighters, schools, parks, libraries, etc).

The very rich don't use a lot of that.

But what they do use a lot of is a reliance on educated employees, a wealthy customer base, a peaceful business environment, courts that enforce contracts, a stable currency, regulated and policed financial system, et cetera.

All of the above is highly under-rated and acknowledged IMO.

Roads and schools have been a net negative for American society. Massive amounts of public money are spent on making problems worse for no gain while simultaneously bloating spending further. (e.g. Smokey Bear, road build-out, bailouts).

Citizens shouldn't have to care about the efficiency of the Government, it should be allowed to fail like any other company. The economy wants off Uncle Sam's lap.