You see, in this system we ultimately need millions of taxpayers to foot the bills, not only for things such as the primary and secondary educations of our children, but also for police and fire protection, the incarceration of dangerous criminals, the filling of potholes, the beautification of city landscapes, the operation of public libraries and fairs, and the assistance that government provides to those who are victims of economic downturns. All of these publicly funded functions of government are only possible because of the fruits provided by taxpayers, and these fruits are greatly restricted when government policy puts the brakes on economic expansion.

Let me put it another way. The water you say that is being given away is not being given away at all. It creates profit and it creates wealth. Taxes are paid on this profit. The wealth that is created is used to fund economic expansion and consumption, each of which also is taxed. Companies that make a profit on this "given away water" employ workers who pay taxes on their paychecks. What is not taken in employment taxes is spent in taxpaying stores, in taxpaying restaurants, in supporting charities (which provide for more efficient end-use), and in maintaining homes. These supported businesses have employees too that do the same with their paychecks. All these employees pay property taxes, sales taxes, and usage fees. They hunt, and fish, and fill their cars with gasoline. Well, at least they do as long as the paychecks keep coming.

What your harebrained idea would amount to, in the long run, is a tightened bear hug on the gasping golden goose your party has been embracing too tightly for too many years. Your flawed dogma maintains that businesses operate solely for the funding of government programs divined by bureaucrats such as yourself, rather than recognizing that businesses operate solely for the production of wealth, the byproducts of which are integral to maintaining a growing and thriving society. Your dogma needs to be updated before it rolls over and dies.

Government is not the horse that pulls the economy along, it is the heavy contents on the back of the carriage. We need to lighten the load Mr. Cherry, not add to it.