Choose where your taxes go.

[Archnar]

I hit on an idea today. One great way to get the Governments of the world to stop screwing there money is for there to be some choice in where a portion of your taxes are spent. For example I check off a box to say I do not wan't my money to be spent on the military or I wan't more to be spent on Foreign Aid or Science and Technology. You would still have to pay your 30% or whatever but now you could decide where it goes. Instead of Protesting against bad budget allocation by the Government you just need to educate the public on the issues and let them make up there own minds. Good or Bad idea

[Nirvash Type TheEND]

Suggested a million times already. Think about whats going to happen. Some government programs are going to become fat bloated masses, while others wither and die. More than direct choices we need more politically active (and educated) voters and more competent politicians.

[Sunkistodia]

^^^ Is right.


I have seen this suggested at least 15 times since last december...

[Ifreann]

If you're going to dictate the government's budget like that then you may as well just abolish the whole thing and run the country by direct democracy.

[Ifreann]

^^^ Is right.


I have seen this suggested at least 15 times since last december...

15 times in the last 14 days? On NSG?

[Arkotania]

I'd choose for my tax money to go into my pocket(or swiss bank account).

Choosing would be big problem for government. People could be persuaded to affect policy making by threatening not to have their taxes used in the military or welfare. We'd soon have mob rule, with people seriously limiting the government's decision making, sending the nation into anarchy and the policy of choosing where tax goes will never ever ever be implemented again in any nation at all. It'll be as bad as Communism(exaggeration and i have nothing against my commie comrades.)

[Free Georgizm]

Probably bad.

[Lenehen]

Good idea in principle but would never work.

[Aesthetica]

I hit on an idea today. One great way to get the Governments of the world to stop screwing there money is for there to be some choice in where a portion of your taxes are spent. For example I check off a box to say I do not wan't my money to be spent on the military or I wan't more to be spent on Foreign Aid or Science and Technology. You would still have to pay your 30% or whatever but now you could decide where it goes. Instead of Protesting against bad budget allocation by the Government you just need to educate the public on the issues and let them make up there own minds. Good or Bad idea

Really really bad...

Most people have huge swathes of the government infrastructure needed to actually run a country on their personal hate list.

Allowing people where THEIR taxes went specifically, would mean huge random holes in that spending, while other areas were overfunded, and expanded beyond their requirements just to use up the money.

Imagine a country with no schools, no health care, no law enforcement, no fire fighters, no libraries, no museums, filled with pollution (no environmental controls), and no standing military, where everyone was diseased and in the national guard, but armed with only the guns they brought with them, if any...

Somalia...

Bad bad idea...

[Sane Outcasts]

Sorry, I really don't trust the average person to rationally or intelligently set the finances for the entire American government.

Especially not me. You really don't want me having a direct hand in financing government programs.

[Arkotania]

^^^ Is right.


I have seen this suggested at least 15 times since last december...

15 times in the last 14 days? On NSG?

Someone must've double posted.

[Xerographica]

Tax choice is a great idea...but it's not easy to find via a Google search. So I took the liberty of giving it a Google friendly label...pragmatarianism.

Here's the Wikipedia article...Tax Choice...and my blog entry with a list of other pages on the topic...Choose Where Your Taxes Go.

[Maurepas]

Much as I think our Government is terrible about budget allocation, something tells me that the uneducated masses will be little better, if not horribly worse.

[Miss Defied]

15 times in the last 14 days? On NSG?

Someone must've double posted.

No. You have dug up an old thread. It will be locked soon.
Edit: now I see this was the wrong post to respond to LOL. Flag confusion.

[Priori]

People have no idea what to do with their money.

[Norstal]

Much as I think our Government is terrible about budget allocation, something tells me that the uneducated masses will be little better, if not horribly worse.

We should do something about the zombies.

[Miss Defied]

Much as I think our Government is terrible about budget allocation, something tells me that the uneducated masses will be little better, if not horribly worse.

We should do something about the zombies.

Yeah, I would vote for my tax dollars to go to killing zombies.

I already reported it.

[Mr Bananagrabber]

That's what voting is for. If you have the allocation of taxes decided individually rather than collectively, what do you get? Farmers send their taxes to farm subsidies, and so on. It defeats the purpose.

[Imsogone]

Break it down into 10% increments

10% - Education
10% - Medicare
10% - Social Security
10% - Education
10% - Military
10% - National Parks
10% - Education
10% - Child welfare
10% - Museums and the arts
9% - Infrastructure
1% - Salaries, Health Insurance, Retirement Programs for elected government officials

In the case of the last 1% - salaries would cease once the elected official was no longer in office. Contributions to the Retirement fund would cease once the elected official was no longer in office and the Health insurance would cease once the official was no longer in office. The salary would have to cover not only living expenses but also any travel and entertaining associated with the job.

[Meowfoundland]

I'd rather a "choose where your taxes don't go" system. I don't want my money going towards imprisoning asylum seekers indefinitely or subsidies for huge polluters.

[The Steel Magnolia]

So I'm gathering no one saw the original post date?/too lazy to check moderation.


But yeah, shitty idea basically.

E: Whoops I can't read.

[Anarcosyndiclic Peons]

Take a look at California to see why that is an absolutely horrible idea. California allows things to be added to the budget by popular referendum while the state has to figure out how to make the budget work. Quite regularly, they can't make it work. So instead of something worthwhile getting done, the state government just shits itself.

Edit: dammit, fooled by the gravedig.

[Xerographica]

Much as I think our Government is terrible about budget allocation, something tells me that the uneducated masses will be little better, if not horribly worse.

In general...do uneducated people pay a lot of taxes?

[Miss Defied]

Much as I think our Government is terrible about budget allocation, something tells me that the uneducated masses will be little better, if not horribly worse.

In general...do uneducated people pay a lot of taxes?

The real question is, do zombies pay a lot of taxes?

[Xerographica]

That's what voting is for. If you have the allocation of taxes decided individually rather than collectively, what do you get? Farmers send their taxes to farm subsidies, and so on. It defeats the purpose.

So farmers would send their taxes to farm subsidies...and the infrastructure that the farmers depend on wouldn't receive sufficient funding?