> the money doesn't just vanish

Of course not.

Laughs in government contractor

LOL. Between how much Matt Stoller has made it to the top page of HN over the years and the waste I've seen anecdotally this made me chuckle.

The money might not vanish, but you're still working Monday through Wednesday for the government in France. It's as though the government was partly the business owner. The question this raises is whether the benefit for society in the long-term is actually worth it. The larger the share the government takes the less motivated people will be to make things better themselves.