Taxes

We work our poor fingers to the bone (some, like my Dad did that literally). We trudge to work with aching backs and sore feet just to make ends meet. Then, we have a big chunk of our hard-earned money as forceably stripped away from us as if it were done by a mugger in a dark alley. Is this right?

Yes.

It is not in our animal nature to voluntarily give up 1% of our income for others, let alone 10%-25% or more. The amount I would voluntarily give up would not be enough to feed even one person for 365 days. And old man Jones (everyone's neighbor to the west)? That SOB wouldn't give the fleas off his dog to feed the hungry without a gun to his head.

Altruism, in any amount close to providing for the common defense and promoting the general welfare of ourselves and our neighbors, just ain't possible for the human animal -- even the most religious ones.

The problem I have is not taxation. I recognize it as a necessary pain due to my selfish nature. The problem I have is that my taxes are controlled by those who have the power to use my money to fulfill their own selfish animal desires, e.g. the Presidential inauguration. Therefore, my hard-earned money fails to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and heal the sick -- the things I am willing to be "robbed" for.