[AdrianB1]

In my country, Romania, most people believe the state has their own money that are used to pay for stuff. Even if they pay taxes, people still believe there is no strict correlation. Is it an education problem? Yes. Is it an important distinction that needs to be made every single time until they understand? YES. And I saw that in most of the countries around (former Eastern European Communist countries). This is because nobody tells kids and young adults in school how the basic government financing works, not even in most universities.

A couple of million of these Romanians live in Spain. Guess what they think about "free trains".

[pcrh]

Well, there isn't a strict correlation between the taxes people pay and state spending. Typically, taxes cover about 70-80% of state spending.

[AdrianB1]

And where is the rest coming from? Borrowing money? I have an extreme experience and knowledge about the finances of my country, I can tell you are wrong at least for this country.

[pcrh]

Income from government-owned assets, borrowing money, and printing money are the principal other sources of government spending. For Romania you can also add disbursements from the EU.

[argentinian]

In Argentina the situation is exactly the same.