Tuesday, January 26, 1999
Give paying unnecessary taxes the boot
PLAN: Proposal would let taxpayers choose support of government
interests
By Eric Achtyes
I’m planning to run for president in 2012 (I’ll be 35 by then),
and I’ve decided that my platform will be based on the following
idea: the Voter’s Veto. In this new system of government, each and
every tax-paying citizen will have the opportunity to designate
three (initially) government funds that they do not want to support
with their tax money.
Citizens will mark these funds on their tax returns, and none of
their tax money will go to support these programs. In turn, they
may route these funds into up to three funds of which they do
approve. For example, if I have an aunt who specifically benefits
from Medicaid disbursements, I may have the money that I diverted
from nuclear weapons proliferation sent to Medicaid instead.
Likewise, if I don’t, or do, support state-funded abortions,
universities, parks, roads, etc., I will have the peace of mind
that comes from knowing that none of, or some of, my tax filings
went to the cause I designated.
Do you support the National Endowment for the Arts? The National
Science Foundation? Then put your money where your mouth is, I say.
Vote – and pay – your conscience.
In a number of years, the result will be a streamlined
government in which the goods and services we want to pay for, we
will get, and those we don’t want to pay for, we won’t – unless of
course someone else wants to pay for it. At least our consciences
will be clear because we didn’t pay for the stinking thing!
Hopefully, as a result, fewer abortion clinics will be bombed
and the folks who don’t want ’em, won’t have to pay for ’em. Who
knows, paying taxes may become fashionable again if it means we
actually have a say in what our government does with our money.
Several major and not-so-major changes will be required in order
to enact my proposed plan.
First of all, the government will have to confess or disclose
exactly how our tax money is being spent. They will do this in the
following way.
Every single fund into which tax money is diverted will be a
placed on a hierarchical "spending tree." This information will
then be made available to the general public over the Web. (Certain
limitations may be placed on the information available for funds
designated "classified," for reasons of national security.) The
dollar amount allocated to each fund during the previous fiscal
year’s budget will be changed to a percent by dividing by the total
budget for that year.
In a hypothetical example, let’s say Medicaid’s operating budget
was $20 billion and the total national budget was $10 trillion. On
the spending tree, Medicaid would be given a designation of 0.2
percent. Each and every John or Jane Q. Citizen in the nation would
be able to divert 0.2 percent of his or her tax contributions away
from Medicaid for the following year if he or she wants.
Since each and every fund will be put on the tree, the voters
can even get more specific if they desire. Suppose I don’t want to
support the $240,000 grant that the government is putting into a
study on boll-weevil dung. I will be able to reject having
0.000000024 percent of my tax money allocated for that purpose.
Instead, I can have my 2.4 hundreths of a penny (on a $10,000
total tax bill) put into the study of the manure of a more
significant animal.
In this plan, you’ll be able to get as specific as you like, but
the more specific you get, the less pull you’ll have. Legislators
will, however, be able to see what it is the American people want
passionately enough to pay for, and what they do not.
To prevent the unfortunate occurrence of our benevolent
legislators "accidentally" over-allocating more funds to maintain a
department the American people have deemed unnecessary, we will of
course need a balanced national budget. This will take some belt
tightening on all of our parts, but at least the politicians won’t
be able to simply borrow their way out of losing their jobs.
This plan will be implemented at a state and local level as
well.
Now you will be able to pull all of your tax funding away from
the local schools and put it into senior citizens’ programs if you
want, or vice versa. If you are just starting a family, you can
send more of your tax dollars to support your children’s
schools.
Yes, my fellow Americans, in the 21st century big government
will go personal. We will pay for the services we actually want.
The "corporation" of America will become less pork-laden and more
efficient.
Government will, more than ever before, be for the people and by
the people. Paying taxes will be just like walking into Burger
King. We’ll be able to "have it our way." (Or was that Wendy’s?)
Anyway, see you in 2012.
Comments, feedback, problems?
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