# Would you be willing to pay more taxes? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 6, 2011, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-willing-to-pay-more-taxes/605225 "2011-12-06T02:22:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-willing-to-pay-more-taxes/605225/41 "2011-12-07T18:50:48Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > Because of the word willing, I’d have to say yes. If the government raised my taxes, would I be willing to pay knowing that the consequence of not paying would be facing legal action? Absolutely. I agree, using the word “willing” is a bit ambiguous. What do the unwilling people do? Leave the U.S.? Stop paying taxes altogether? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-willing-to-pay-more-taxes/605225/42 "2011-12-07T18:52:14Z")
I voted “no”, but with a qualifier: Until the tax code is changed to close loopholes for corporations and the wealthy, I’m not willing to shoulder yet more of the tax burden. ---
**Author:** ![Krouget](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b38774/32.png) [@Krouget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krouget)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-willing-to-pay-more-taxes/605225/43 "2011-12-07T19:10:38Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > Pretty straightforward question. I make a decent amount of money (certainly not wealthy by US standards though) and I wouldn’t mind paying an extra couple percent in taxes if it meant helping the country get out of debt. Just so you were aware, the US treasury does accept monetary donations. If you really do feel like paying more, it doesn’t have to be via taxes. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-willing-to-pay-more-taxes/605225/44 "2011-12-07T19:28:32Z")
> [@Krouget](#): > > Just so you were aware, the US treasury does accept monetary donations. If you really do feel like paying more, it doesn’t have to be via taxes. Donations to reduce the U.S. government’s debt amounted to [$2.8 million](http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/gift/gift.htm) in the fiscal year 2010. Total U.S. government revenues in FY2010 were [$2.2 trillion](http://www.gao.gov/financial/fy2010/10frusg.pdf) [PDF]. Clearly, encouraging only some people to pay for money spent by all the people nets about 0.000127% of federal income, and therefore has a vital role to play in the budget debate, shamefully overlooked by both parties. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-willing-to-pay-more-taxes/605225/45 "2011-12-07T19:50:28Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > Seriously? I worked as a civil servant for 2 1/2 years and saw so much waste it made my head spin. Your example isn’t really waste, it is corruption. But it pales when compared to private industry. I’m not talking about stealing paper clips here. Look at the companies who spend billions overpaying for other companies and then writing it off. And I’m not talking about bets that go bad, I’m talking stuff that everyone but the imperial CEO knows is stupid. Hell, one HP wastes as much as a thousand city governments. As for corruption, we have Enron and the mortgage mess. Any big enterprise run by human beings is going to have waste and corruption. I’m all for a free press who can find some, and internal auditing. But cutting budgets because of waste usually cuts real stuff and keeps the waste. Say your mayor got a nice kickback from the insurance guy. Would cutting your budget mean that he gives up his kickback, or that he cuts some department which doesn’t personally impact him? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-willing-to-pay-more-taxes/605225/46 "2011-12-07T19:55:00Z")
> [@wevets](#): > > Donations to reduce the U.S. government’s debt amounted to [$2.8 million](http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/gift/gift.htm) in the fiscal year 2010. > > Total U.S. government revenues in FY2010 were [$2.2 trillion](http://www.gao.gov/financial/fy2010/10frusg.pdf) [PDF]. > > Clearly, encouraging only some people to pay for money spent by all the people nets about 0.000127% of federal income, and therefore has a vital role to play in the budget debate, shamefully overlooked by both parties. When those who could write a $2 million check to reduce the deficit do so instead of moaning and groaning about how the poor pay no taxes, I might think about donating. They could fund free health care for the poor instead of yelling about Obamacare also. Yeah, right. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-willing-to-pay-more-taxes/605225/47 "2011-12-07T20:23:11Z")
> [@obbn](#): > > No, no and no. The politicians have made it painfully obvious that they cannot be trusted with tax revenue. No matter how well stated, any funds collected with the express purpose of paying down the debt would be funneled off for something else. Promises are what are always being made and always broken. Not another dime. The Government had received over the years a mind boggling amount of money, but that wasn’t enough. To give them more is just insanity. Sadly, this echos my opinion. Or it echos my sad opinion. ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-willing-to-pay-more-taxes/605225/48 "2011-12-07T20:40:38Z")
“I like paying taxes. With them I buy civilization.” - Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-willing-to-pay-more-taxes/605225/49 "2011-12-07T20:56:13Z")
Yes. But only if in return I get a fully funded Police and CPS staff doing their jobs and protecting the children. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-willing-to-pay-more-taxes/605225/50 "2011-12-07T21:12:47Z")
> [@brittekland](#): > > “I like paying taxes. With them I buy civilization.” - Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Seems like civilization was a lot cheaper in Justice Holmes’s day. ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-willing-to-pay-more-taxes/605225/51 "2011-12-07T22:38:42Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Seems like civilization was a lot cheaper in Justice Holmes’s day. I would think so. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-willing-to-pay-more-taxes/605225.md?page=2)