@nickcammarata trying to write a tweet length reply is tough, lots of nuance & details & I'm far from 100% happy w current tax -> spending across all levels of govt.... However... I went through a libertarian / prepper phase as a teen- scared of systemic risks (pandemic phobia most of all lol), angry about the inefficiency of government and the monopoly on force, etc etc... but the deeper I dug into the ecology of sustainable off-grid living, the more I realized how deeply interdependent we all are... finally had a moment of surrender to the fears & complexity, acceptance of the challenge of coexistence w other humans, as frustrating & imperfect as it is. Over time I've come to further appreciate that there's no way to retvrn to hunter-gatherer society without most humans dying (and stripping the world bare in the process)- 8 billion ppl = humans are 34% of mammal biomass, livestock 62% & wild mammals 4% (as a vegan I will always argue for shifting towards plant-based diets, but currently 🤷‍♀️) .... The fact that we're all reliant on the productivity of techno-capitalism to provide for everyone even at current global GDP per capita (~$20K ppp) gives me a sense of responsibility towards the misfits & malcontents who aren't productive - there's not enough land / resources to tell them to DIY if they can't conform- we need social systems to mediate among humans living at unnatural density on a planet w limited resources. Getting back to the taxes... I've spent time over the years digging into taxes & spending for myself (Arlington VA context), and overall concluded it IS being mostly spent on things I mostly support (sigh, defense gives me the most qualms, but also complicated & idk) also nonprofits are often *less* efficient & can't deal w the hardest stuff for legal reasons and I don't have one weird trick to make the system magically perfect (AI resurrects some hopes lol), so I accept that our system is still the best way we currently know how to coexist & care for ~350M of us and I prefer it to the social darwinism of libertarians / anarchists, so I pay my taxes and participate in the system as I can- as an election officer, writing letters, etc- supporting effective government moreso than either party. ig I got there through fighting w myself abt values and looking deeper till I was satisfied there wasn't an alternative, idk if me just sharing my conclusions really helps emotionally... but I do empathize w the struggle 🫶