Here is an excellent Daily Article from the Von Mises Institute. It was written by a geological engineer and focuses on a new tax that members of Congress (the bill has passed the House) want to impose on mining operations. The bill would impose a 4% royalty on existing mines and 8% on future mines that are located on federal land.

What I particularly like about the article is that the author sees right through the “But the government needs the money” argument. “While most Americans will never see the money the government takes they will have to bear the cost of the higher metal prices that result,” he writes. Exactly! And he sums up: “The only beneficiaries of such a royalty would be the state and the privileged groups to whom it decides to dispense the proceeds.”

That’s the point. When the government seizes more money from people, that doesn’t help “society.” It helps the few who get to feed at the government trough.