Don’t Give Government Another Buck

Many Americans treat a larger public budget as an obvious social good: if a problem persists, the remedy is another transfer from private production to government.

Jim Cardoza | September 16, 2026

Many Americans treat a larger public budget as an obvious social good: if a problem persists, the remedy is another transfer from private production to government.

A functioning society needs government to do a short list of things well -- primarily courts, policing, firefighting, and basic infrastructure. The mistake is the further premise that dollars automatically serve society better once they leave private hands.

Taxes are compulsory. They are force. That is not a slogan; it is why public spending needs a higher burden of proof than private spending. Citizens should not be required to satisfy a politician’s appetite to spend. Before they surrender another slice of private wealth, they should ask three questions. Do I actually want a larger government? Can I trust this government to fix the potholes rather than buy more surveillance cameras? Can I trust it to maintain parks rather than accommodating homeless encampments?

Milton Friedman’s four ways to spend money explain the incentive problem typical of government spending.

When you spend your own money on yourself, you watch both price and quality.

When you spend your own money on someone else, you still watch the price, but you can only guess whether the purchase will satisfy the recipient.

When you spend someone else’s money on yourself, you care about quality but have little reason to economize.

When you spend someone else’s money on someone else,........

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