Taking government money is theft

To accept gifts from the government is to steal from others. Government gets money from two major sources: taxes and printing. Taxing the rich to give to the poor is redistribution of wealth, and is wrong. When the government prints money to give to the poor, it devalues the existing money. Thus those who had substantial amounts of money have less, and those who had nothing have more. It’s still redistribution of wealth.

Scenario: The mayor spontaneously gives you $100, saying it’s government money and you should spend it. You ask, “Where did it come from?” The mayor says, “We took it from your neighbor Tom. He’s loaded, so it’s okay. We just wanted him to share.” Is it right to accept the money? No, it’s theft, legalized but immoral.

It's also not a matter of need. "But I really need this money!" one might say. Well, everyone "needs" money. Is that need justification for robbing a convenience store, a bank, or someone's house? No. Neither is it justification for taking someone else's money via the government.

Some say, "The government is taking what it can from me, so I should take what I can from the government." Doing so means that a disproportionate burden is placed on the wealthy. This simplifies to selfishness: escaping while letting others suffer.