Each of these officials thinks that government needs more tax revenue because government lacks the money to do everything that he or she wants it to do. What they refuse to own up to, and what taxpayers have a duty to make them see, is that scarcity is part and parcel of the human condition. Letting government officials prattle on endlessly about needs is like letting a self-involved teenager tell you how much allowance he needs to finance his desired lifestyle. Rather than talking about government needs, one should ask how much it is reasonable for government to take. Although the percentage has been roughly constant, the growth in GDP means that the same percentage of GDP can buy much more.
Political systems operate under different rules than market ones.
Subjecting more activities to their control generally makes production more politicized and less efficient. The consumer is serf, not king, with the result that more spending on politically determined goals often makes people worse off. Alleviating poverty is one of the most commonly used justifications for government spending. 3 March 2000. 3 March 2000.