Would this tax system work?

Question

What would be the positives/negatives of a tax system in which Americans were able to determine the individual policies/programs their tax dollars would support? For example, after it was determined how much tax you owed, you could then fill out a sheet stating which programs those tax dollars would fund. Therefore, if someone was against the Iraq War, they could decide to not fund it, if someone was against a particular social program, they could decide to not fund it. If a person did not want to take the time to do this, they could leave it blank and Congress could allocate the money. I realize this could cause some programs to be "underfunded" and others "overfunded", but wouldn't that mean that citizens were letting their voices be heard regarding what they want their government to do for them? Additionally, this is in no way changing how much people pay, it is simply saying that citizens say where it goes, instead only voting every couple years for other people who then decide.

Answer 1

At the heart of your question is our so called representative democracy which is hopelessly broke. Our representatives are steadfast in voting their "conscience" instead of the preferences of their constituents.

Personally, I believe the system you suggest could work. No doubt, there would be problems, but the problems would at least represent the voters. As it is now, the process you describe does take place today. Unfortunately, the people who make the decisions on allocations are the money ladened lobbyists who buy the vote (conscience) of our congressmen. I am inclined to believe that American taxpayers can and would do a better job of allocating tax money than the lobbyist.

Answer 2

it would not work, important programs would suffer at the hands of those that are "favorites" or less controversial. Just because something is not popular does not mean that it is not necessary or needed. I am not saying that the government always makes the best decision, however I do think that they are in the best position and have the best point of view to know what the best decision should be. We, as average joes, do not have that perspective and therefore would not make the right choices. If it were up to me, everyone would have to take a quiz before even being able to vote, this way we could ensure that only informed voters choose our government and then the best possible government would exist...instead of electing those officials that appeal to our sense of fraternity by making empty promises of a better life.

Answer 3

Wow!

I first had this idea a few years ago (or longer).

What a brilliant person you must be!

;-)

At the very least, it would be interesting to see what people would do -- what stuff do people want their tax money to go for, and what not?

Unfortunately, it occurred to me that it would end up as Rule by the Rich (even more than we have now), since people paying the most money in tax would be determining where most of the money went -- it would undermine the idea of one person one vote, if you follow.

But then, maybe the vast majority, each paying a smaller amount, would outweigh the few paying more.

But it would be really interesting to see how things would fall out.

There could be further optional pages where you give more detail, as opposed to general allocations.

Maybe have the allocations collated in real time via the net, so people could adjust, when they see how the totals fall out. It would take a few iterations of this for it all to settle into what people really want.

Of course, if our political system weren't broken, we wouldn't need to take it into our own hands.

Answer 4

This is a very intriguing question. You leave out one very important element, however. Who chooses the list of possible programs? What if Congress chose "Bill Gates" as one of the programs.

Interestingly enough, there are some countries with this type of democracy -- for example, Switzerland has referendums on many, many elements of their social policies.

Answer 5

Ummmmm....dang! That's an awesome idea! I mean, supposedly that's how it's supposed to work, since WE elect the officials who make the decisions, but it IS different! I think it might work well! People are soft on paying for education and healthcare already, so it might not change to much!
What a brilliant mind! I hope you're going into politics; we need you!