Destin Faruda got it mostly right. But labor isn't inherently worth anything. You can work really hard, 16 hours a day, digging a hole in your yard and filling it up. That will be worth absolutely nothing, unless you find customers who enjoy paying you to do that. That's where the value comes from. Customers. Somebody needs to buy what you're selling. That means either you create products or offer services, and sell/trade them in the marketplace, or you sell your labor to an employer who values it. Of course, in neither case does any government have any valid claim on a single penny of the compensation you receive for products or labor. The state is a huge organized criminal extortion racket. Nothing more.