I think of it a different way. Many people think our taxes should be used to provide a basic "floor" to support the basic needs of people. E.g. shelter and food

I think of it a different way. Many people think our taxes should be used to provide a basic "floor" to support the basic needs of people. E.g. shelter and food. However, all that money flows up to the state or federal level to then get filtered back down to people at the local lavel. An ostensibly better approach is to support local charities to make the lives in you local community better. I support CSA and Second Harvest Silicon Valley for that reason. Personally I'd prefer to be taxed less to have more money to provide to things I care about like food insecurity in my community, education, etc. I had a thought experiment that with my vote I got to attribute my tax dollars to NASA, medical research, national defense, etc. as I see fit.