Just curious.

In my opinion,

Government taking money = Bad.


That said, from an equality perspective I can't think of a fairer way to levy money from everyone than simply printing more of it.  In the long run, out of control printing presses can cause inflation and reduce the value of each dollar people already have and later receive; this makes prices go up... for everyone.  But in the end, it's as much of a government taking as if it simply raised everyone's taxes (but of course, people don't see it that way.  "It's necessary!" "It's a stimulus!").  For someone like myself who's generally opposed to progressive taxation ("You're doing well, you pay .50 for every dollar you make.  You're down on your luck, you pay nothing!"), this idea of reducing everyone's currency by printing printing printing at least has the positive of not being an extra penalty on success.

There is a flip side, however, and it's the long term damage that devaluing the dollar causes.  By printing more and more money, the government doesn't just impact the American people whom it has a "right" to tax -- anyone anywhere holding US currency sees the value of their investment decrease, making them less and less likely to continue to do so.  The relative strength of the dollar was one of the key factors that made America such a dominant global force, and devaluing it can only hurt us down the road.

So yes, printing more money is bad, but there's nothing we can do about it so why not try to find a little silver lining in there.  Hope and change, everybody. HOPE AND CHANGE!!!!