And yet there are oh so many things in life that are supposedly "the government's job." Think roads, bridges, infrastructure in general. When one of these fails, it's the government that gets the blame. So yeah... I'm all for the right sized government. Said so at the outset. But to pretend many things can be done without it is just not practical, IMO. As of this moment in time, the government's main source of income is through taxes. If there was another source that could allow government to carry out its functions, then by all means. But so far nothing else exists. So in effect it's the people... yes... carrying some of the burden that otherwise would go unfinanced. The problem is it has never been done to the satisfaction of all. There are those who favor no taxes at all for some and a hell of a lot for others... and there are those who favor no taxes whatsoever and let the chips fall where they may. Both extremes are full of holes, IMO.