We love to imagine the state as a bottomless wallet, but it has nothing to give except what it first takes. When every group tries to secure special privileges—subsidies here, tariffs there, bailouts for the well‑connected—we don’t get something for nothing; we get everyone trying to live off everyone else. It’s a polite food fight funded by your future.

Real wealth doesn’t come from subsidies; it comes from serving your neighbor. The more we trade value for value, the less we need to fight over spoils. Instead of lobbying to move money by force, let’s earn it by meeting people’s needs. That’s how you turn taxpayers into customers, resentment into respect, and scarcity into abundance.