[jmcmichael]

Government, at least in nation-states that are sovereign currency producers, does indeed have first dibs on what people earn. Income taxes are usually withdrawn from salaries before employees are paid, and in the case of independent contractors, business owners, and capital gains taxes, individuals are on the hook retroactively for taxes.

The only perspective from which your statement makes sense is from the libertarian fantasy of government-as-parasite and individual-as-independent-producer.