I look at this quote a bit differently. Jefferson comes off as a socialist to me, at the same time though, ironically, railing against taxes. He is not okay with someone working 16 hours a day and that not being able to afford them a decent life. This in its essence is the main point of labor unions, to reward the worker with wages and benefits he deserves. We no longer have to worry about the government taxing away nearly 100% of a middle class workers wealth, instead we have to worry about the LACK of government to ensure workers are given the rights they have earned.