Fred Pohl used this idea in a story or two. I know at least one other science fiction writer did too.
Anyway, under Fred’s system (IIRC), you could designate where 90% of your taxes went, but you paid an additional 1% of tax per every 10%. So, if I wanted to designate 20% of my taxes, I’d pay 102% of what I owed. This would help weed out those who really didn’t care enough about where their taxes went.
He also had an idea…you’d work for the government in lieu of taxes. You would be subject to call-ups, or work it in as you and the government agreed.
While I would be thrilled to see this come to fruition, I really don’t see it happening under your plan. I like to think that most folk would be big hearted enough to increase funding, but with human nature being what it is…
I have to say that I really don’t see it working anyway. Again, most people are pretty damned selfish, and while I might get bent at some of the things that my tax dollars fund, I also realize that they do an awful lot of good. Plus, the list of places that you could direct your tax dollars toward would be pretty monstrous. And people complain about the forms that they have to fill out now.
Also, I get pretty nervous about the idea of majority rule.
Ok, first of all, you know that this does not increase or decrease your tax bill, just where the $$ goes right? So, if you have a choice for aiding those who need help, nearly everyone I know says “the disabled”, but few say “the indigent”.
But it would NOT be “majority rule”. If 60% of America “voted” their money to the Military, and 40% to socail proble, the military would get 60% of the taxes, and social programs 40%. Not the military 100%.
The great thing about this, is that “none of MY tax money” would go except where YOU wanted it. You hate the military? Fine, NONE of your $ goes to buy tanks.
And this is not really a “libertarian” idea, it is more a “pure democracy” idea, as the Gov’t would continue to tax and pay for, say- schools.
It might work if we lived in a village of fifty people, but we are talking about a huge nation. While customizeing your taxes like it is a high school class ring may be fun, it isn’t suited for a situation where people cannot always feel the direct results of their choices. If everyone cuts off funding for farm substisies, for example, it would take us a while to realize that food and it’s prices were all whacked out. In a village of fifty, it would be immediately apparant as disasterous, being it that Bob didn’t want to farm anymore and no one gets food.
Yeah, I gathered that it wouldn’t increase my tax bill. And me? Yes, I would (if given the choice) give a great deal of my money to assist the disabled. Most of the folk I have encountered would not.
Yeah, it would. Plus, are you just going to have a box that indicates “social programs”, or are you going to break it out? And if you’re not going to break it out, then who is?
Well, I don’t recall mentioning the “L” word. And if the government would continue to pay for schools, why wouldn’t they continue to pay for the military? Plus, how many folk do you think would voluntarily devote their tax dollars to pay their representatives?