[quote=markmax33]Is there such a thing as stealing money from a tax payer and then spending it more efficiently then the taxpayer would have in the free market?[/quote]
Oh god, the Efficient-market hypothesis? Hasn’t the groundbreaking work on behavioral economics pretty much stained this notion permanently?

There are times and places where government is more efficient and situations where private industry is better. In many situations regulated markets are by far the most efficient way to create wealth and avoid monopolies.