The aqueduct?

When you pay enough and have the right government, a society.

• free tuition
• free or at least affordable healthcare
• social security
• physical security
• transportation

Without it, our country (the Netherlands) would be a lot smaller, as most of it would be below sea level. It still is, but the dykes, which are build and maintained via taxes, keep the sea at bay. No roads to travel on, no military to defend the country, no healthcare that is affordable for all and no food on the table for the unemployed.

When your taxes are spent well, it’s a great return on investment. (My income for one ;) ) However, when the government is mostly corporate owned, the return is a lot less.

Garbage answer:

Garbage collection and general management. It’s nice that we don’t dump our waste outside our homes anymore.

“All right, but apart from the sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?”

Sewers. Ever visited an outhouse in a place where it’s 0 degrees out? yOw!

Or carried two pails of water 2 blocks, twice, to start heating it while you did it 3 more times for the rest of your bath? Lots of people still do that.

Which country?

What your government spends tax money on varies wildly from one country to another.

The good ones pay for universal healthcare and higher education.

The bad ones pay for wars, stuff the pockets of billionaires and fund anti-progressive propaganda.

The worst thing we get in return for paying taxes is constant whining from right-wingers (i.e. libertarians).

A whole-ass functioning society

A squad of burly goons with a tank and helicopter dont break your body in half (by default)

Universal healthcare, free operations, cheap medication

Your public education

Services from the government.

bossed around.

allegedly? services.

realistically? fuckall

eh… nothing? I thought that was clear lmao