> Step two is to restrict what you can spend your money on

Where do people get these ideas? How do they sincerely hold them?

No non-religious government wants to restrict what you can spend your money on. They want to get a cut of your money, but otherwise it's strictly better for them if you spend as much of it as possible.

If they don't want you to have things, they just attack those things directly, like hard drugs or weapons. No need to restrict your ability to purchase.