I know taxes can be used for good things. However, I would argue that in the majority of cases, taxes are nothing but a way to extract money from people and give it to a select few in government or friends of government such as Lockheed Martin. Why does everything the government uses cost so much? Because there's no competition, and very little to no need to inovate and ask how something could be done better. I dont see NASA flying reusable rockets for example. Before SpaceX launch costs were way to high because of slow design. Now a highschool can put up a cubesat if they wish. We can argue about whether they should or not, but the point is that they can, and they could not before.