Monte,

I don't subscribe to any political mags, but I read many articles on-line and sometimes I wonder if some of the politicos are talking from a specific philosophy, or if they're just making noise to sound like they are experts.

As for your specific responses:
1. Everything the government spends comes by taking from one and very inefficiently transferring to another. So a benefit to one is a reduction in the prosperity of another.
2. The marketplace is far more capable of regulating itself and delivering safe products at a far lesser cost than government. I work in an extreme, EPA-dominated regulatory environment so I can tell you that huge sums are spent just on paperwork. Sometimes regulations make things worse and the paperwork often costs more than the cleanup!
3. If you really believe that, why is it each time a tax is raised on something you buy that you have less money in your pocket after buying it?