the receive the money, so it's their money. their capital.
no private enterprise put down the capital for the hoover dam or the california aqueduct, the government did. no private enterprise had contractors bid on building the hoover dam or the california aqueduct, the government did.
but unless there's a comical image of mitch mcconnell building a turtle trail for himself, no dice according to miss kynes.
until the government cn take our capital, and do soemthing that at least breaks even, they are consuming our capital. even if the return on a project is not fiscally quantifiable, like the central canal, or the hoover dam, then government has acheived a beneft, but too much of what the government does is pure consumption. you always harp on things which provide benefits, both tangible and otherwise, but what about bridges to nowhere (and i mean REAL ones like the one in the high desert which connects to no roads whatsoever, and never has, racking up maintenance costs at ~$2oo,ooo per annum for 80 years with zero people served, and zero tonnes of cargo crossing it ) or ridiculous rooftop gardens in chicago, or $800k for african scrotum washing seminars, or tol bridges which were to have tolls only until the bonds were paid off, but 60 years later they are still maintained at taxpayers expense, and the tolls are siphoned off to private companies through sweetheart deals, or bombers the pentagon says they dont need, but get built anyway, etc etc etc...
many bridges, dams power plants, sewage systems, aqueducts, docks, ferries, roads, and other things you so glibly ascribe to government are in fact built and maintained by PRIVATE companies, or co-ops with no government help whatsoever.
and in the end even government sponsoed projects arent built or funded by government since they get all their funds from US.
because you see, THEY didnt build that, we did.
check ORS475. i'm not allowed to make money, just to break even.
do you declare your christmas presents?
IRS code does not require declaring of small in kind gifts, minor transactions, or even hobbies that make a gross income under $5k. if you make one dime over the set figure with your horticultural hobby you are required to declare it, but you can exempt any real verifiable expenses, just like any enterprise.
even pimps are expected to declare their income, as are gangsters and dope dealers. the al capone case comes to mind.