Thank you akuperma for proving my point! So, you are advocating that people work “off the books” such that they cheat the government out of taxes?
“If the government wanted most of the bnei yeshiva to be part of the economy, they could exempt them from the army (perhaps tied to being fathers, a grounds for exemption in many countries with conscription). “
Please give me a logical rational argument why a yeshiva student should be exempt from his duty to the state as opposed to anyone else. If everyone did what you suggest, there would be no army and no benefits as there would be no taxes to collect! You have aptly proven the gemara’s point: If you don’t learn a trade, you will eventually come to steal (in this case, from the government itself. The same government that these yeshiva boys seem to have no problem taking money from).