Tax Choice Tax Rate

Reply to thread: Tax Choice - Pragmatarianism - Calling Xerographica

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helmuth_hubener, your "final word" is missing one very important word... "congress". This thread, on the other hand, has (prior to this post) 19 instances of the word "congress". How do you explain this disparity?

In case I wasn't very clear the first gazillion times that I've explained this...

1. Tax choice is where people can choose which government organizations (GOs) they give their taxes to
2. Congress is in charge of determining the tax rate
3. Congress is a government organization (GO)
4. Therefore, in a tax choice system, taxpayers will be able to choose how much of their hard earned tax dollars they give to congress.

You (the taxpayer): Ah man, these public options really suck! I'm the complete opposite of a kid in a candy store!! I'm a depressed taxpayer in a public market!!! I'm a despondent adult in a crap store!!!!!!
Congress: Will you give us more of your hard-earned tax dollars if we raise or lower the tax rate?
You: Lower!!!!!!! For sure! Drop the tax rate to 1% and I'll give you all of my tax dollars!
Congress: How many other people are in the same boat as you?
You: To be completely honest... I really don't know. If I'm the only person in this boat, and you lower the tax rate to 1%, then more people will boycott you and your revenue will plummet.
Congress: We really don't want our revenue to plummet, we want our revenue to skyrocket!
You: Then decrease the tax rate marginally. If your revenue increases then you'll know that you're going in the right direction. Keep marginally, and gradually, decreasing the tax rate until your revenue starts to decrease.
Congress: That sounds like a really good plan!
You: I know! I'm a genius!


If taxpayers largely perceive a relative scarcity (shortage) of public goods... then they will perceive the necessity of a higher tax rate. So congress would increase its revenue by increasing the tax rate. If, on the other hand, taxpayers largely perceive a surplus of public goods... then they will perceive the necessity of a lower tax rate. So congress would increase its revenue by decreasing the tax rate.





In this video, the kid doesn't give his money to the pastry vendor. Why didn't he? Because evidently the kid perceived that there were more valuable things to spend his money on. From his unique perspective, with his unique set of preferences, in his unique situation/circumstances/environment...

relative scarcity of other goods (X) > relative scarcity of pastries (Y)

X > Y

If taxpayers, in a pragmatarian system, perceive that the...

relative scarcity of private goods (X) > relative scarcity of public goods (Y)

X > Y

... then they'll allocate their hard-earned tax dollars accordingly. They'll give more tax dollars to congress if, and only if, congress lowers the tax rate.

This is how and why markets work. Consumers use their cash to guide producers in the most valuable directions. Consumers are the compass. Right now this compass is not in the public sector...

The management of a socialist community would be in a position like that of a ship captain who had to cross the ocean with the stars shrouded by a fog and without the aid of a compass or other equipment of nautical orientation. - Ludwig von Mises, Omnipotent Government

The only alternative to a market price is a controlled or fixed price which always transmits misleading information about relative scarcity. Inappropriate behavior results from a controlled price because false information has been transmitted by an artificial, non-market price. - Mark J. Perry, Why Socialism Failed

You might be right that pragmatarianism is a crappy idea. But your critique to end all critiques doesn't even address the mindnumbingly simple process that will determine the tax rate in a pragmatarian system.

Speaking of bad ideas... here's the worst idea ever.

Personally, I think that consumers will be more honest in the public sector. More honesty means a more accurate compass. And a more accurate compass means more value will be created in the public sector. When the public sector creates more and more value... the tax rate will increase accordingly. Until we end up at a 100% tax rate.

Is my prediction wrong? I wouldn't be surprised! So please come up with a better prediction. Predict, using the stupid simple process that I outlined in this post, what the tax rate will end up being. Will it go up? If so, how high and why? Will it go down? If so, how low and why?

Tax Choice on Facebook

I took the liberty of creating a page on facebook for tax choice.  If you like the idea of allowing taxpayers to choose where even just a small percentage of their taxes go...then hopefully you'll "like" the concept on facebook.

Choose Where Your Taxes Go

[update] Created a community on reddit for tax choice. [/update]

The tax choice revolution was postponed because of...semantics?  How many different ways are there of saying the same thing?  A while back, when I first searched google for the idea of allowing people to choose where their taxes go...I didn't find anything.  My search terms, which I've long since forgotten, made sense to me at the time.  Fairly recently I learned a few other ways of saying the same thing...which allowed me to discover that a lot more people have discussed this concept than I had initially imagined.

In essence...it's a lot harder to find relevant search results when you search using a description compared to when you search using a label (see Semantic Web).  Because of this difficulty...there are a lot of dots...with nothing connecting them together (see Network Science).

My mission is to go around and connect the dots!  This can be accomplished by...

1. Tagging each dot with a google friendly label "pragmatarianism"
2. Linking each dot back to this page
3. Linking each dot to the Wikipedia entry on Tax Choice

In this entry I've compiled all the pages that I've found that contain a reasonable amount of discussion on the topic of tax choice.  The list does not include what I myself have personally written on the topic.  If you know of any other reasonably relevant pages that have not been included in this list...please share them in a comment and I will add them to the list when I get a chance.  

Given that economics is the study of scarcity...and your time is scarce...I ranked the pages according to their relevance and quantity of quality content.  Just search (Ctl + F) this page for "Stars:5" in order to find the pages that will give you the most bang for your buck.   

While on the topic of limited time...just in case anybody is wondering...I wrote a program to output this list from an MS Access database that I created.  If you'd like a copy of this database then feel free to private message me your e-mail address on one of the political forums that I frequent.

Here's the format for the entries...

Title - The title of the reference.  This is how the list is sorted
Link - The URL of the reference

Rating - Value is in the eye of the beholder

Tagged - Whether or not I've had the opportunity to connect the dot.  N/A if it's no longer possible.

Description/Author/Date - Snippets of how the tax choice concept was described

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A Liberal Reform Policy
http://www.scottahunt.com/2005_07_22_archive.html
Stars:3
Tagged:No
1: earmark our taxes to the programs we want - SCOTT A HUNT - 22 Jul 2005
2: designate my tax money to - SCOTT A HUNT - 22 Jul 2005
3: earmark their taxes - SCOTT A HUNT - 22 Jul 2005

A Market Based Tax System
http://www.ted.com/conversations/12638/a_market_based_tax_system.html
Stars:4
Tagged:N/A
1: a market based tax system that allows taxpayers to choose where their money will be spent - Joseph Bailey - 17 July 2012
2: allow the taxpayer to select funds (like a stock), or a pool of funds (like a mutual fund) for where their tax dollars will be spent - Joseph Bailey - 17 July 2012

A post in which I reveal, again, that I’m an avid elitist
http://www.kepkanation.com/2011/04/08/a-post-in-which-i-reveal-again-that-im-an-avid-elitist/
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: decide exactly where their tax dollars go. - Jenn Kepka - 8 Apr 2011
2: make decisions about where my tax dollars should and shouldn’t go - Jenn Kepka - 8 Apr 2011

A special ‘Happy Tax Day’ message from your Uncle Sam!
http://4and20blackbirds.wordpress.com/2011/04/18/a-special-happy-tax-day-message-from-your-uncle-sam/
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: decide exactly where our tax dollars went - The Polish Wolf - 20 Apr 2011

About This Tax Credit Project
http://www.newvisioncounseling.com/fundraising/yop/yopinformation.asp
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: direct where your tax dollars are spent - New Vision
2: direct those tax dollars, through tax credits, to - New Vision

ALEF Fund
http://www.epsteinatlanta.org/ALEF_Fund
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: Redirect Your Taxes - Epstein School
2: direct where your tax dollars are spent - Epstein School
3: earmark your tax dollars - Epstein School

All Taxes Optional - Congress Passes New Law!
http://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=52863446&f=119&o=50
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: choose where our tax dollars go that would be nice - inkanddagger - 15 Mar 2006

Alternative Ideas: Taxpayer Choice For Funding Areas Of Government
http://mountainsteps.blogspot.com/2010/01/alternative-ideas-taxpayer-choice-for.html
Stars:4
Tagged:Yes
1: allocate where we want our share of tax dollars to go - Mountain Steps - 6 Jan 2010
2: allocate their taxes to - Mountain Steps - 6 Jan 2010

American Governance: Allowing Taxpayers to Decide How Their Own Tax Payments Should Be Spent
http://www.bestthinking.com/articles/politics_government/taxation/american-governance-allowing-taxpayers-to-decide-how-their-own-tax-payments-should-be-spent
Stars:4
Tagged:Yes
1: participate directly to the extent of their tax payments - J. Marvin Herndon
2: permit individual taxpayers to designate specifically how their own taxes should be spent and not spent - J. Marvin Herndon
3: make it possible for individuals to perform detailed allocations of their own taxes - J. Marvin Herndon

As a tax payer, shouldn't I decide where my taxes are spent; instead of the controlling party to deciding?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070605203414AAS6FAn
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: decide which avenues to invest my tax dollars - Mike Jones - 6 June 2007
2: allocate a percentage of your taxes based on what's most important to you - Dona A - 6 June 2007

Brandon's Response
http://www.degreediscussion.com/forums/viewtopic.php?=&p=21046
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: decide where my tax dollars go - Brandon - 9 Feb 2007
2: choose not to have your tax dollars fund - dntw8up - 11 Feb 2007

Busing of Private Schools Students
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/howardpubliced/message/6329
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: decide where my tax dollars will be spent - Wanda Hurt - 17 Nov 2000

Can I earmark my tax dollars to pay for the salary of a soldier who will donate to Ron Paul?
http://www.facebook.com/KokeshforCongress/posts/10150479796731260
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: earmark my tax dollars - Adam Kokesh - 11 Jan 2012
2: decide where those dollars go. - Carolyn Joshua - 11 Jan 2012

can we choose where our tax dollars go
http://forums.gametrailers.com/thread/can-we-choose-where-our-tax-do/900258
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: choose where our tax dollars go - Cowboy-Funk - 22 Aug 2009

Choose Where Our Tax Dollars Go
http://twitter.com/#!/psailoveu/statuses/30096641419649024
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: choose where our tax dollars go - Paula - 25 Jan 2011

Choose where taxes are spent?
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=122540691&page=1
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: choose where your taxes are spent - farquezy - 21 Feb 2010
2: choose how your taxes are spent - drjjg - 21 Feb 2010

Choose where your tax money goes
http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/economic-issues/59221-choose-where-your-tax-money-goes.html
Stars:3
Tagged:Yes
1: choice where my taxes go - Truthbetold - 20 Feb 2010
2: earmark your taxes - Machjo - 20 Feb 2010
3: decide where your taxes go - timj219 - 22 Feb 2010

Choose where your taxes go
http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?t=159951&f=20&view=unread
Stars:3
Tagged:Yes
1: some choice in where a portion of your taxes are spent - Archnar - 14 Jan 2012
2: choose for my tax money to go - Arkotania - 14 Jan 2012
3: choosing where tax goes - Arkotania - 14 Jan 2012
4: Allowing people where THEIR taxes went specifically - Aesthetica - 14 Jan 2012
5: having a direct hand in financing government programs - Sane Outcasts - 14 Jan 2012

Choosing Where Taxes Go
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2011/09/03/guest-post-choosing-where-taxes-go/
Stars:4
Tagged:Yes
1: choose where my taxes go - Brandy Mae - 3 Sept 2011
2: direct their taxes - victoriajean

Choosing where your taxes go
http://www.sherdog.net/forums/f54/choosing-where-your-taxes-go-480094/
Stars:3
Tagged:No
1: choose how we want our money distributed - Reaper Man - 20 Dec 2006

Choosing where your taxes go?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120126000000AA4G78q
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: Choosing where your taxes go? - Jon - 26 Jan 2012

Choosing where your taxes go?
http://www.creditcompliance.com/taxes/choosing-where-your-taxes-t64264.html
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: I believe that out of the total taxes taken from any person in one years time the Govt should take 50% and spend it in anyway they choose. the other 50% should get to be allocated by the individual that it's taken from. - celia8350 - 30 June 2011

Coloradans can earmark tax dollars for agriculture
http://www.craigdailypress.com/news/2002/jan/14/coloradans_can_earmark/
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: earmark their tax dollars to help support Colorado agriculture. - Josh Nichols - 14 Jan 2002
2: direct their taxes into something they care about. - Jim Rubingh - 14 Jan 2002

Conservatives, whats a fair tax for you? (brainwash, elect, vote)
http://www.city-data.com/forum/politics-other-controversies/1242496-conservatives-whats-fair-tax-you-11.html
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: choose WHERE my tax dollars go - h0tmess - 3 April 2011

Controlling where my taxes go?
http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=1096863
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: control where my tax payer money goes? - techjr - 7 Nov 2011

Decide Exactly Where Our Tax Dollars Go
http://wincoast.com/forum/showthread.php?43285-Read-My-Lips-More-STUPID-Taxes
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: decide exactly where our tax dollars go - MerlboroMan - 19 Oct 2006

Decide where your taxes go!
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=33892
Stars:3
Tagged:No
1: specify on their tax forms where their money went? - friedo - 8 Aug 2000

Democratic budgeting - targeted taxation
http://www.globalideasbank.org/site/bank/idea.php?ideaId=3566
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: decide exactly where their tax dollars go - Duncan Wright

Direct Democracy Via the Internet
http://occupywallst.org/forum/direct-democracy-via-the-internet/
Stars:5
Tagged:Yes
1: What if, instead of electing someone to making this decision for me and us, I and we are allowed to decide where our taxes go? - Nulambda - 20 Oct 2011
2: deciding where my tax dollars go - Nulambda - 20 Oct 2011

Do Earmarks Increase Giving to Government?
http://cbees.utdallas.edu/papers/gtg2.pdf
Stars:5
Tagged:N/A
1: taxpayers appear willing to pay voluntary taxes if they can choose to earmark their tax payments - Brown et al - 13 Nov 2011
2: make choices over how to spend their tax payments - Brown et al - 13 Nov 2011
3: tax proceeds are directed to programs they approve of - Brown et al - 13 Nov 2011
4: taxpayers to voluntarily make donations to specific government organizations - Brown et al - 13 Nov 2011

Do voters have a right to decide where their tax money goes?
http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=5597
Stars:5
Tagged:No
1: decide where their tax money goes - Tony - 9 May 2003
2: earmark their tax money - corplinx - 9 May 2003
3: pay the various government entities only for programs and activities he favors - Lemastre - 11 May 2003
4: control where your taxes went - Tmy - 12 May 2003
5: tax direction system - Tmy - 12 May 2003
6: Besides, this discussion is not about how to run a society without taxes anyway, it's about whether to allow those paying them to allocate where the money goes. - WMT1 - 12 May 2003
7: decide where one's tax money goes - WMT1 - 12 May 2003
8: determine where one's tax money goes - WMT1 - 13 May 2003

Do You Believe We Should Choose Where Our Tax Money Goes?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080912222942AAq0zSc
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: Choose Where Our Tax Money Goes? - Dot - 12 Sept 2008

Do you believe you should be able to decide where your tax money goes?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090813061029AA6qlU7
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: allocate your tax dollars? - Cesaria Barbarossa - 40K - 13 Aug 2009
2: choose what programs your tax dollars went to - Cesaria Barbarossa - 40K - 13 Aug 2009
3: allocate their tax dollars - rrm38 - 13 Aug 2009
4: decide where our tax money goes - Shawn - 13 Aug 2009

Do you think Tax payers should get the choice of where the government spends your tax?
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090325065048AAcY0wh
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: choice of where the government spends your tax? - shane_emsworth - 25 Mar 2009
2: Our money, our choice - shane_emsworth - 25 Mar 2009
3: things I do not want my tax money to be spent on - mike_h - 25 Mar 2009
4: choose where their tax dollars go - Big B - 25 Mar 2009

Do you think we should choose where our tax money goes?
http://www.cafemom.com/answers/909922/Do_you_think_we_should_choose_where_our_tax_money_goes
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: pick, on out tax forms, where our tax money should go - leksismommy - 9 July 2011
2: choosing where our tax money goes - beauti_ful - 14 July 2011

Due to Popular Demand, IRS Introduces Taxpayer Earmarks
http://madminsatires.blogspot.com/2009/04/due-to-popular-demand-irs-introduces.html
Stars:3
Tagged:Yes
1: tax earmarks allows the individual taxpayers to designate the specific government programs to which they wish their taxes to be directed - MAD MINERVA - 14 Apr 2009

Forced Giving is a Good Thing!
http://wicwoes.com/2011/forced-giving-good-thing
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: decide exactly where their tax dollars went - cassandra - 13 May 2011

Giving to Government: Voluntary Taxation in the Lab
http://cbees.utdallas.edu/papers/GTG-Oct212010.pdf
Stars:4
Tagged:N/A
1: earmark their tax payments for specific causes - Brown et all

Head of free clinic group slams Ron Paul
http://www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/09/head-of-free-clinic-group-slams-ron-paul/
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: decide where their tax money is spent? - iehuvihs - Oct 2011

Here's a Thought
http://catsittingstill.livejournal.com/71149.html
Stars:4
Tagged:Yes
1: specify on your tax forms what you wanted the money spent on - Cat Sitting Still - 15 Apr 2008
2: allocate their tax money - mtgat - 15 Apr 2008
3: allot their tax dollars - pocketnaomi - 15 Apr 2008
4: direct allocation system - mrgoodwraith - 16 Apr 2008

How can we re-frame tax policy to make people happier about paying taxes and/or spending pro-socially?
http://www.ted.com/conversations/11033/how_can_we_re_frame_tax_policy.html
Stars:4
Tagged:N/A
1: entities of choosing by the taxee - griffin tucker - 14 May 2012
2: giving individuals some control over their taxes - Jack Derbyshire - 9 May 2012
3: give them full control over where that money goes - Jack Derbyshire - 9 May 2012
4: Let me Spend My Tax Money! - Douglas De Carvalho - 7 May 2012
5: pin down a percentage of my taxes directly to that issue - Douglas De Carvalho - 7 May 2012
6: my taxes being spent THE WAY I WANT THEM spent - Douglas De Carvalho - 7 May 2012
7: let them funnel all their taxes towards that - Douglas De Carvalho - 7 May 2012
8: But I don't see why 10% of your "taxes", for example, couldn't be pro-social/discretionary instead of it going into the general coffer to pay for things you disagree with. - Bill Harrison - 26 Apr 2012
9: you're required to pay it, but you choose where it goes - Bill Harrison - 26 Apr 2012
10: I've argued in the past that money is more like a vote than voting is, because it is a direct claim check on the allocation of social resources. - Bill Harrison - 26 Apr 2012
11: give people a little bit more control over where social resources are allocated - Bill Harrison - 26 Apr 2012
12: a degree of choice about what your tax is spent on - Anne Dagen - 26 Apr 2012
13: Is it socially optimal for individuals' specific choices for their tax dollars to drive social spending? - Fritzie Reisner - 25 Apr 2012
14: individuals' being able to target a portion of their taxes for good - Fritzie Reisner - 26 Apr 2012
15: you don't get to choose where your tax money goes - Bill Harrison - 24 Apr 2012

How Responsible Are You for Where Your Taxes Go?
http://ordinary-gentlemen.com/blog/2011/04/08/how-responsible-are-you-for-where-your-taxes-go/
Stars:4
Tagged:N/A
1: set aside what’s currently legal or illegal to fund with government money. Then we let you fund what you want with your money. Want all your tax dollars to go to abortion? Do it. Want all your tax dollars to go to secret military tribunals? Do it! (I’m told they’re legal, anyway…) - Jason Kuznicki - 8 April 2011
2: I saw the idea posited here once, by Mike Farmer I think, of funding government a la carte. You’d get a menu of potential government services and you’d be able to assign what percentage of your taxes went to what. - 62across - 8 April 2011
3: line item taxation - Rufus F - 8 April 2011
4: Tom sez, upthread: “As for individuals earmarking their tax dollars, this does not seem remotely practical or desirable.” - Pat Cahalan - 8 April 2011
5: a taxpaying a la carte world? - Creon Critic - 8 April 2011
6: line item taxation system would work. - Kyle Cupp - 8 April 2011
7: ala carte taxation thing - b-psycho - 8 April 2011
8: deciding where their individual tax money goes - conradg - 8 April 2011
9: line-item funding won’t work - Richard Gadsden - 9 April 2011
10: earmark each dollar they send to the government, but to give people a choice as to how a certain percentage of their tax dollars are spent. - Brendan - 11 April 2011
11: earmark tax revenue – though it need not be dysfunctional – would essentially turn the government into a network of quasi-legitimate non-profits. This could be good, could be bad, I don’t know but it isn’t and wouldn’t be government in any real way. - Kyle - 11 April 2011

How would you like to choose where your tax money goes?
http://onyourownadventures.com/hunttalk/showthread.php?t=223955
Stars:3
Tagged:No
1: decide where their money goes. - DAVID PFEIFLE - 28 Feb 2005
2: designate what percentage of your taxes goes where. - DAVID PFEIFLE - 28 Feb 2005
3: designate what percentage of your taxes goes to what you value most - DAVID PFEIFLE - 28 Feb 2005

I should be able to choose where my tax dollars go
http://forum.grasscity.com/general/657762-i-should-able-choose-where-my-tax-dollars-go.html
Stars:3
Tagged:Yes
1: choose where my tax dollars go - Stoogemeister - 28 Aug 2010

I think taxpayers should be allowed to choose where their tax dollars go. Make it happen.
http://expertlabs.aaas.org/thinkup01/post/?t=152907622981435392&n=twitter
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: choose where their tax dollars go - 30 Dec 2011

I want my taxes to go towards…
http://www.sherdog.net/forums/f54/i-want-my-taxes-go-towards-813110/
Stars:3
Tagged:No
1: choose where your taxes went within the government? - USS_Logic - 12 July 2008
2: Where would I like my tax dollars to go? - Montpelerin - 12 July 2008
3: choose where my tax dollars go. - Nietzsche13 - 12 July 2008

If I could choose where my tax money was spent, I'd be more willing to pay it.
http://jyte.com/cl/if-i-could-choose-where-my-tax-money-was-spent-id-be-more-willing-to-pay-it
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: choose where my tax money was spent

If taxpayers got to choose where their taxes go to (Federal organization), would that be bad?
http://www.ign.com/boards/threads/if-taxpayers-got-to-choose-where-their-taxes-go-to-federal-organization-would-that-be-bad.250129529/
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: choose where their taxes go - CoconutScissors - 4 Apr 2012

If you could choose where your tax dollars went, what would you cut?
http://www.minnpost.com/intelligencer/2011/04/if-you-could-choose-where-your-tax-dollars-went-what-would-you-cut
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: choose how your tax dollars were spent? - Jeff Severns Guntzel - 19 April 2011

If You could choose where your taxes went
http://www.kongregate.com/forums/9-serious-discussion/topics/160387
Stars:3
Tagged:Yes
1: choose what parts of their tax dollars go - Flypurplehamster - 17 Apr 2011
2: choose where your taxes went - Flypurplehamster - 17 Apr 2011
3: pick and choose where your taxes went - vikaTae - 17 Apr 2011
4: allocate finances to departments - NeilSenna - 17 Apr 2011
5: allocating your entire tax take to - NeilSenna - 18 Apr 2011
6: choose where my taxes go - Trumpkard - 18 Apr 2011

If You Could Choose, Where Would All Your Tax Dollars Go?
http://www.hanseich.com/2011/11/22/if-you-could-choose-where-all-your-tax-dollars-would-go/
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: If You Could Choose, Where Would All Your Tax Dollars Go? - hanseich - 22 Nov 2011

If you could earmark your tax dollars, what would your choice be?
http://www.topix.com/forum/us/politics/TRL7LH7FIHDMT9MVE
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: earmark your tax dollars - anneutral - 6 Dec 2010

If you could say where your tax money went would you pay more?, You can and you should
http://www.ar15armory.com/forums/tax-money-pay-mo-t110457.html
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: tell the .gov what to do with your taxes - MontanaLon - 14 Oct 2011
2: decide where our tax money went - Pepper - 14 Oct 2011

If you were able to choose where your tax dollars go, what would you spend them on?
http://www.coffeetank.com/conversations/view/49078/if-you-were-able-to-choose-where-your-tax-dollars-go-what-would-you-spend.html
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: choose where your tax dollars go - Shannonon

In This Country, Taxes Are Voluntary
http://killiansaid.blogspot.com/2009/01/in-this-country-taxes-are-voluntary.html
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: earmark my taxes - K - 27 Jan 2009

Income and Taxes
http://bimmergeek.dreamhosters.com/?p=3738
Stars:3
Tagged:Yes
1: What would happen if, just like in the open market, taxpayers were allowed to allocate their tax dollars to programs they believed in? - BimmerGeek - 17 Apr 2007

Is a direct democracy now possible in the USA?
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1208083
Stars:3
Tagged:No
1: pick where their tax dollars go - callmemike20
2: pick where their tax dollars go - callmemike20 - Aug 7, 2011

Is is at all possible to choose where our taxes go?
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100408142848AAqn89C
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: choose where our taxes go? - Haroon A - 8 Apr 2010
2: individually earmark money for programs - Kristin C - 8 Apr 2010

Is there an actual reason I can't decide where my taxes go?
http://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/mmyga/is_there_an_actual_reason_i_cant_decide_where_my/
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: Every year, quarter, even month, we would fill out a form saying which percentage of our income goes to which government programs. - rdarken - 23 Nov 2011

Let Decide Where Our Tax Money Go!
http://www.lucasforums.com/showthread.php?t=179763
Stars:3
Tagged:Yes
1: no say whatsoever on where exactly my tax money go - SilentScope001 - 22 Jun 2007
2: I'd like my tax money to go somewhere worth while - True_Avery - 22 Jun 2007
3: taxpayers having a token amount of taxes that they get to decide where it goes to - SilentScope001 - 25 Jun 2007

Let the Taxpayer Decide Where there $$$ is Spent
http://governmentreform.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Let-the-Taxpayer-Decide-Where-there-$$$-is-Spent/128326-13060
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: determine - at least a percentage - where their tax money goes

Let's all make taxes optional
http://www.teenspot.com/boards/showthread.php?333636-Let-s-all-make-taxes-optional
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: decide where their tax dollars go - Legally_Forbidden - 27 Aug 2006
2: not pay taxes for a specific project - jawnyone - 28 Aug 2006
3: choose where your taxes go - Praeco_Noctis - 28 Aug 2006

Let's make the tax system more lovable
http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/3151/1/MPRA_paper_3151.pdf
Stars:5
Tagged:N/A
1: choose which program they want to be financed by their money - Alida Paunic - May 2007
2: allocate their tax money - Alida Paunic - May 2007

Limited Government: Who’s Spending My Money?
http://www.theargus.ca/articles/opinion/op-ed/2011/04/limited-government-whos-spending-my-money
Stars:3
Tagged:No
1: allocate their tax dollars where they deem is appropriate - Joshua de Amicis - 10 Apr 2011

My Turn: A 21st century dream
http://www.salisburypost.com/Opinion/012512-edit-my-turn-steve-arey-qcd
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: decide where their tax dollars will be spent - Steve Arey - 25 Jan 2012

New tax system (democratic)
http://www.olivejuicemusic.com/forum/2012/02/18/1846
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: decide where they want their tax money to go to - Jeff Lewis - 18 Feb 2012
2: allocate my tax payments - Jeff Lewis - 18 Feb 2012
3: allocate their tax money - Bee K - 22 Feb 2012

No Tax Increase Without Recompense
http://blog.supplysideliberal.com/post/30196025443/no-tax-increase-without-recompense
Stars:5
Tagged:Yes
1: offer a 100% tax credit for public contributions up to the entire amount of the tax surcharge - Miles Kimball - 25 Aug 2012
2: How about 100% tax credits for donating directly to a Federal Gov’t Program. - Tom Grey
3: choosing which government program to support - Miles Kimball - 25 Aug 2012
4: devote 10% of income above $75,000 per person to public contributions - Miles Kimball - 25 Aug 2012

No Truer Words, Elizabeth Warren
http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/kn5ef/no_truer_words_elizabeth_warren/
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: designate where your money went as part of the tax filing process? - sage_joch - 21 Sept 2011
2: designate where their money goes - chriswu - 21 Sept 2011
3: decide where your taxes go - chriswu - 21 Sept 2011

Nude Buttocks May Cost ABC $1.4 Million
http://social.entertainment.msn.com/tv/boards/thread.aspx?board=00000065-037f-0000-0000-000000000000&thread=00000065-0000-0000-6e42-080000000000&_p=00000065-0000-0000-0000-00004996db00
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: decide exactly where our tax dollars go - Logic and Reason - 26 Jan 2008

OK health, human services levy to help all of county's residents: Ken Slenkovich
http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2012/03/ok_health_human_services_levy.html
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: choose where my tax dollars go. I have no problem giving up the money, just have a problem with where it goes. - ceh9876 - 06 mar 2012

PATRIOTISM AND TAXATION: THE TAX COMPLIANCE IMPLICATIONS OF THE TEA PARTY MOVEMENT
http://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2772&context=llr
Stars:4
Tagged:N/A
1: Earmark Their Tax Payments - Richard Lavoie
2: earmark how their particular tax dollars are used - Richard Lavoie
3: direct their tax payments only to those government functions they deem appropriate. - Richard Lavoie
4: direct their taxes to those government benefits they value most
5: allocation of tax dollars by a taxpayer

Pentagon Says: Cut Our Spending, Please
http://sweetness-light.com/archive/pentagon-says-cut-our-spending-please
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: decide where my tax dollars go - Milissa - 30 Sept 2010
2: decide where your tax dollars go - AcornsRNutz - 1 Oct 2010
3: decide where our tax dollars - reparing4theworst - 2 Oct 2010

Perry Tax Plan: Choose Your Tax Rate
http://investorjunkie.com/10570/perry-tax-plan-choose-tax-rate/
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: decide how to allocate their tax dollars - Miranda Marquit - 27 Oct 2011
2: say in where tax money goes - Miranda Marquit - 27 Oct 2011

Personal Tax Earmarking
http://stingystudents.blogspot.com/2007/04/personal-tax-earmarking.html
Stars:2
Tagged:No

Personal Tax Earmarking
http://www.michaelkdawson.com/2007/04/13/personal-tax-earmarking/
Stars:1
Tagged:No

Personal Tax Earmarking (a.k.a. How to Love Big Brother)
http://www.seemegetrich.com/2007/04/personal-tax-earmarking.html
Stars:2
Tagged:No

Pick Your Taxes
http://www.kongregate.com/forums/9/topics/76912
Stars:3
Tagged:Yes
1: give some of my tax money to - pmr0078 - 12 Feb 2010
2: pick and choose what services they pay taxes for - AaronB - 12 Feb 2010
3: chose what government services they would pay for - vikaTae - 13 Feb 2010
4: CHOOSE what their actual tax payment will be used for - Vanguarde2010 - 18 Feb 2010

Power of the purse, WE the people should choose where OUR tax GOES
http://www.opendemocracy.net/power_of_the_purse_we_the_people_should_choose_where_our_tax_goes_0
Stars:3
Tagged:No
1: giving power of the purse to the people - anupsebastian51 - 16 Apr 2005
2: choose where their tax money goes - anupsebastian51 - 16 Apr 2005

Principled Progressive: Contraception and Punishment
http://daily.swarthmore.edu/2012/03/13/principled-progressive-contraception-and-punishment/
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: Everyone’s tax dollars go towards things we find abhorrent.

Pro-Choice Everything
http://www.psychopolitik.com/2011/04/08/pro-choice-everything/
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: Jason Kuznicki, in the context of referring to the recent budget bickering over Planned Parenthood, floats a hypothetical: what if you could pick exactly what your individual taxes went to fund?

Pros and cons of choosing where your tax dollars go?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110507200027AA3b8uL
Stars:1
Tagged:No

Rep. Gary Miller
http://www.opencongress.org/people/comments/400277_Gary_Miller
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: choose where our tax dollars are spent - Commenter - 10 Mar 2011

Rep. John Campbell’s “Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is” Bill
http://www.theliberaloc.com/2008/04/16/rep-john-campbells-put-your-money-where-your-mouth-is-bill/
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: decide exactly where their tax dollars are spent - Dan Chmielewski - 16 Apr 2008

Ron Pauls 0% income tax would create 'the most jobs in the history of the world'
http://ingunowners.com/forums/general_political_discussion/191927-ron_pauls_0_income_tax_would_create_the_most_jobs_in_the_history_of_the_world-3.html
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: choose where our tax dollars go would be ideal - lashicoN - 25 Jan 2012

Should I be able to choose where my taxes go?
http://www.yorkshire-divers.com/forums/surface-interval/208581-should-i-able-choose-where-my-taxes-go.html
Stars:3
Tagged:Yes
1: choose where my taxes go - turbanator - 12 Aug 2012
2: direct where a SMALL portion of your various taxed monies go - Paul_c - 12 Aug 2012
3: decide where our taxes went - NotDeadYet - 12 Aug 2012
4: say where their taxes go - Daniel Taylor - 13 Aug 2012
5: allowing people to choose where their taxes go - BJ - 14 Aug 2012
6: decide where our taxes are spent - Paulus - 14 Aug 2012
7: choosing where our taxes should go - SoggyFox - 14 Aug 2012

Should we be able to choose where our tax money goes?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110301201153AAWFm7p
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: choose where our tax money goes - Hello - 2 Mar 2011
2: optional tax allocation would produce - Veni, vici, Vetinari - 2 Mar 2011

Should we pick & choose where our personal tax dollars go?
http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/should-we-pick-choose-where-our-personal-tax-dollars-go/question-305997/
Stars:3
Tagged:Yes
1: say how their dollars are spent - Diane
2: Nothing produces results like competition, and competing for our tax dollars would definitely fit the bill. - Arokk

Smells like mean spirit
http://www.dailyhelmsman.com/news/smells-like-mean-spirit-1.2018388#.T5Kx27NWo3I
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: earmark my tax payments to - Amy Barnette - 25 Feb 2011

Some don't want their taxes to pay for abortions?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091113114510AA9sHfe
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: pick where our taxes go for a reason - Sanji - 13 Nov 2009
2: decide exactly where our tax dollars end up percentage wise - Brian - 13 Nov 2009
3: Lets also have a box where you can elect whether or not your tax dollars go to INTERVENTION in other countries affairs - Don B - 13 Nov 2009
4: How about another check box for my tax $$ not paying for a war, I am against - Natalie - 13 Nov 2009
5: choose where and how my tax dollars are spent - smellyfoot - 13 Nov 2009

Speculative direct democracy: the cybernetic tax-allocation feedback loop
http://futurismic.com/2010/10/07/speculative-direct-democracy-the-cybernetic-tax-allocation-feedback-loop/
Stars:2
Tagged:No

Suppose you got to choose where your tax dollars went?
http://www.webanswers.com/taxes/suppose-you-got-to-choose-where-your-tax-dollars-went-86a581
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: choose where your tax dollars went? - Animal_World

Tax Credit
http://www.geageckos.org/taxcredit.php
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: direct where your tax money is spent. - Great Expectations Academy

Tax day: The key to our hearts
http://www.diamondbackonline.com/opinion/tax-day-the-key-to-our-hearts-1.2181964#.T5KoPrNWo3I
Stars:3
Tagged:Yes
1: decide what your tax dollars do - Rob Riker - 19 Apr 2011
2: earmark our taxes - Rob Riker - 19 Apr 2011
3: choose how tax dollars are spent - Rob Riker - 19 Apr 2011
4: earmark some small percentage of your tax dollars - Rob Riker - 19 Apr 2011

Tax System that allows people to choose how their money would be spent
http://www.ted.com/conversations/6241/tax_system_that_allows_people.html
Stars:3
Tagged:N/A
1: My idea is to set aside a SMALL percentage of taxes which the taxpayer got to choose how to spend it.

Taxation With Representation
http://www.ratical.org/ratville/JFK/JohnJudge/taxation.html
Stars:5
Tagged:N/A
1: Taxes, if paid by the people, should be directly allocated by the people - John Judge - 1 July 2001
2: Direct allocation of taxes - John Judge - 1 July 2001

Taxation Without Representation
http://www.insideassyria.com/archive/5/messages/6419.html
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: decide where our tax money should go - panch - 8 Sep 2002

Taxes - If the people could choose where their tax dollars
http://www.pocketfives.com/f13/taxes-if-people-could-choose-where-their-tax-dollars-339276/
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: choose where their tax dollars were going... where would you choose to have your tax dollars spent? - jesterwords - 23 Sept 2008
2: choose where the hell my tax dollars are getting spent - jesterwords - 23 Sept 2008

Taxing a la Carte
http://suburbdad.blogspot.com/2010/11/taxing-la-carte.html
Stars:3
Tagged:Yes
1: a la carte tax - Dean Dad - 4 Nov 2010
2: decide where the money went - Jim C - 4 Nov 2010

Taxpayers Decide How Their Money Is Spent
http://forums.contracostatimes.com/topic/participatory-budgeting
Stars:2
Tagged:No

Taxpayers Get to Choose
http://www.susanunger.net/moreArticles/TaxPayersGetToChoose.html
Stars:4
Tagged:N/A
1: choose where their tax dollars go - Susan Unger

Taxpayers should be allowed to dictate how governments spend their money.
http://www.debate.org/debates/Taxpayers-should-be-allowed-to-dictate-how-governments-spend-their-money./1/
Stars:3
Tagged:No
1: dictate how governments spend their money.

THE ALGORITHMIC THOREAU
http://www.poszu.com/2010/10/06/the-algorithmic-thoreau/
Stars:4
Tagged:N/A
1: shift where their taxes went? - 6 Oct 2010

The Madness of the Many
http://lawlegislationandlunacy.blogspot.com/2010/10/madness-of-many.html
Stars:3
Tagged:Yes
1: discretion over where their funds go

The Result of Free Choice Tax?
http://www.zoklet.net/bbs/showthread.php?t=77517
Stars:3
Tagged:No
1: free choice tax is the ability for tax payers to choose what their money goes towards - MarqueeMoon - 11 Nov 2009
2: a system where you have taxes going to what you thought was important - Vargus - 11 Nov 2009
3: decide where your taxes go - facking daht-ha - 28 Nov 2009

The Solution? Earmark Your Taxes
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1320&dat=19900727&id=FcFWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=P-oDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5572,8765818
Stars:5
Tagged:N/A
1: earmark their federal tax payments - Russell Baker - 27 Jul 1990

The Tax Man
http://www.thegabber.com/the-tax-man-cms-999-printer
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: earmark my tax dollars to go to a certain line item - 27 Jan 2012

Tim O'Reilly
https://plus.google.com/107033731246200681024/posts/H89cRFwu6qH
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: decide where their tax money should be spent - Robert Koritnik - 12 Dec 2011

todaze Lympian deep question o mg
http://www.sondrak.com/index.php/weblog/comments/31232/
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: allocate a portion of my taxes to my preference - Annoyed White Male

Voluntary Tax Rates and Personalized Earmarks: How to Solve the Debate over Taxes
http://pjmedia.com/zombie/2011/08/22/voluntary-tax-rates-and-personalized-earmarks-how-to-solve-the-debate-over-taxes/
Stars:4
Tagged:Yes
1: Personalized Earmarks
2: allow each taxpayer to individually allocate which governmental expenses receive funding from that person’s tax payments
3: allocate their tax money

We all own NFA weapons!
http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-13001.html
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: decide where their money went - Triad - 14 Mar 2003
2: decide exactly where their tax dollars go - illuminatus99 - 14 Mar 2003

We can’t pick and choose where tax dollars go
http://problogic.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/we-cant-pick-and-choose-where-tax-dollars-go/
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: decide how our tax money is spent

We Should Choose Where Our Taxes Go
http://www.convinceme.net/debates/6863/We-Should-Choose-Where-Our-Taxes-Go.html
Stars:3
Tagged:No
1: choosing where the taxes go - theudas - 6 Mar 2011

We, The People
http://www.sff.net/people/jack.haldeman/people.htm
Stars:5
Tagged:N/A
1: itemize the allocation of your tax money - Jack C. Haldeman II - 1983
2: the chance to say how his money would be spent - Jack C. Haldeman II - 1983
3: portioned out her calculated tax - Jack C. Haldeman II - 1983
4: put money into the programs that touched their lives and ignored the rest - Jack C. Haldeman II - 1983

Weekend Musing: The People’s Budget
http://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2011/07/weekend-musing-the-peoples-budget/
Stars:3
Tagged:Yes
1: decide where their tax dollars would be spent - Q Continuum - 9 Jul 2011

What do you think about having people choose where their tax dollars go?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080424184656AAOMOSe
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: choose where their tax dollars go? - joecool123_us - 25 Apr 2008

What if Americans actually got to decide where their tax money was spent?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090408074112AAEC52i
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: deciding what percentage of their taxes go to each program - Drew Blood - 8 Apr 2009
2: choose the agencies of government that they do not want their taxes to go to - David M - 8 Apr 2009

What if citizens were able to choose which government agencies their tax money fund?
http://www.ted.com/conversations/465/what_if_citizens_were_able_to.html
Stars:2
Tagged:N/A
1: choose which government agencies their tax money fund - Jonathan Lanis - 20 Feb 2011
2: choose a very small percentage of taxes to go to very specific projects - Zdenek Smith - 20 Feb 2011
3: make only some portion of paid taxes freely allocatable by citizens - Mark Meijer - 21 Feb 2011

What If Taxpayers Could Decide How Their Money Is Spent?
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2010/10/what-if-taxpayers-could-decide-how-their-money-is-spent/63946/
Stars:5
Tagged:Yes
1: discretion over where their money goes, rather than just telling them how the government is spending it? - Daniel Indiviglio - OCT 3 2010

What if you could choose where your tax $ went?
http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?1175921-What-if-you-could-choose-where-your-tax-went
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: allocating their tax dollars to - christcd - 27 Feb 2006
2: elect where your money was allocated - christcd - 27 Feb 2006
3: allocate just our tax dollars - Zooey - 28 Feb 2006

What is Personal Tax Earmarking?
http://forums.hostsearch.com/showthread.php?20033-What-is-Personal-Tax-Earmarking
Stars:2
Tagged:No

What is Personal Tax Earmarking?
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-personal-tax-earmarking.htm
Stars:5
Tagged:N/A
1: choose where their tax dollars go. Make it happen.

What would happen if Americans had a say in how their tax money is spent?
http://grist.org/politics/2011-04-18-what-if-americans-had-a-say-in-how-their-tax-money-is-spent/
Stars:4
Tagged:N/A

Where SHOULD we spend our tax dollars?
http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?95479-Where-SHOULD-we-spend-our-tax-dollars
Stars:4
Tagged:Yes
1: determines where their taxes are spent - TheDeadlyShoe - 9 Jun 06
2: decide where your tax money goes - Nurizeko - 10 June 06

Where Should Your Tax Dollars Go?
http://usemytaxes.blogspot.com/2012/04/where-should-your-tax-dollars-go.html
Stars:3
Tagged:Yes
1: choose where your tax dollars go - xstat - April 10, 2012

Where would you want your tax dollars to go?
http://caffertyfile.blogs.cnn.com/2010/04/15/if-you-could-choose-where-would-you-want-your-tax-dollars-to-go/
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: choose where your tax money goes

Who would like to choose where their tax money goes?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080105072038AAKZd7K
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: choose specifically where their tax money goes - zeek112x - 5 Jan 2008
2: Individual earmarks would not only be impossible - snoopy - 5 Jan 2008

Why can’t I earmark my taxes?
http://potterpoliticalpickle.wordpress.com/tag/paying-taxes/
Stars:5
Tagged:Yes
1: move around their tax dollars the same way we invest in our 401Ks - potterpoliticalpickle - 8 Feb 2010
2: earmark some of my taxes for - potterpoliticalpickle - 8 Feb 2010

Why can't I choose where my taxes go?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090415110535AA956BO
Stars:1
Tagged:No

Why can't i decide where my tax dollars go?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100528005109AAljMni
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: decide where my taxes go - trustluvlove - 28 May 2010

Why cant I decide where my taxes go?
http://boards.adultswim.com/t5/Babbling/Why-cant-I-decide-where-my-taxes-go/td-p/61068192
Stars:3
Tagged:Yes
1: decide what government programs I want to fund? - Quicksilver - 28 July 2011
2: where would you choose to have your taxes go currently - Swimmortal - 28 July 2011

Why can't taxpayers specifically regulate how their money is being spend?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20111028173912AA3fGdS
Stars:1
Tagged:No

Why can't we CHOOSE where our tax dollars go?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070424113745AA6sCfw
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: choose where your tax dollars go? - logical_christian - 24 April 2007

Why can't we choose where our tax dollars go?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100515082341AAvhCnA
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: choose where your tax dollars go? - Lee - 15 may 2010

Why Can't We Choose Where Our Tax Money Goes?
http://whyisthisimpossible.blogspot.com/2011/12/why-cant-we-choose-where-our-tax-money.html
Stars:2
Tagged:No
1: choose where your tax money goes? - Matthew Amos - 19 Dec 2011

Why can't we choose where our taxes go?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110222195236AAG1Atf
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: choose where our taxes go - Jak and Daxter - 23 Feb 2011
2: chose where their taxes went - T.O Blue - 23 Feb 2011

Why can't we pick where we want our tax money spent?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070423191021AAGCEvp
Stars:1
Tagged:No
1: pick where we want our tax money spent - buildermeister - 23 Apr 2007
2: submit Taxes & denote where to Spend - Stephen R - 23 Apr 2007
3: Denote on Taxes by tick marks to send taxes to - Stephen R - 23 Apr 2007
4: earmark our taxes - charlienoble92001 - 23 Apr 2007

Why Mandatory Taxes Are Bad -- And How The Government Should Fix Them (But Probably Won't)
http://www.forbes.com/sites/brittanybinowski/2012/06/18/how-to-get-americans-to-pay-taxes-willingly/
Stars:5
Tagged:Yes
1: Allow people to decide where their tax money goes - Brittany Binowski - 18 June 2012
2: the government should let them as an individual decide where they want the money deducted from their paychecks for taxes to go - Brittany Binowski - 18 June 2012
3: donate money to their desired departments - Brittany Binowski - 18 June 2012
4: allowing individual tax payers to determine where their tax money goes - Zachary Weber - 18 June 2012
5: People can decide how their tax money is spent already - Zachary Weber - 18 June 2012
6: allowing people to decide where their money goes - prost - 18 June 2012

Why Not Choose Where Our Taxes Go?
http://dyn.politico.com/members/forums/thread.cfm?catid=2&subcatid=31&threadid=808171&sort=1&start=1&CurrentPage=1
Stars:3
Tagged:Yes
1: choose from perhaps 5 to 10 destinations for their own tax dollars? - Speakeasy - 26 May 2008
2: direct something like 40% of their tax dollars - MindCrime - 5 Jun 2008

Would it be a complete disaster if civilians could choose where their tax dollars went?
http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/rcvgf/would_it_be_a_complete_disaster_if_civilians/
Stars:4
Tagged:N/A
1: choose where their tax dollars went? - delorted - 25 Mar 2012

Would it be possible for people to choose where their taxes go?
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=520992
Stars:3
Tagged:Yes
1: choose where their tax dollars go as soon as they also lose any benefits from things they didn't support.
2: directly choose where their taxes are allocated, so everyone gets to enjoy the benefits of everything, whether direct or indirect.

WWYD: Earmark Your Tax Dollars
http://queercents.com/2007/08/08/wwyd-earmark-your-tax-dollars/
Stars:3
Tagged:No
1: earmark my tax dollars - Allison - 8 Aug 2007

Your Money, Your Choice
http://www.democracyjournal.org/20/your-money-your-choice.php?page=all
Stars:5
Tagged:Yes
1: allocate a percentage of their income taxes to any portion of the discretionary federal budget - Cait Lamberton - 2011
2: choice in where their taxes go - Cait Lamberton - 2011
3: allocate a portion of their tax dollars - Cait Lamberton - 2011
4: put a portion of their tax dollars where their hearts are - Cait Lamberton - 2011

Eject vs Exit

It was the first day of class and I was the first person there.  The second person there was some gangster looking Chinese guy...who decided to sit right next to me.  Who does that?  It's not as bad as violating the one urinal rule...but it's pretty darn close.

That was a long time ago.  Andy and I have been good friends ever since.  He's not at all a gangster...but he's at least one standard deviation from the norm.

Another friend that I met at school was Ming.  He's also Chinese and also at least one standard deviation from the norm.  He's an Asian redneck with a degree in physics.  Andy and I give him a hard time because  Dick Cheney shot him twice.  Dick Cheney is an old, half blind Chinese guy that Ming goes hunting with.  Who does that? 

Not too long ago the three of us were hanging out.  Ming and Andy were sitting together on a loveseat sofa.  Andy was on his laptop while Ming was reading some gun magazine.   I was going to ask Ming a question when I noticed that Andy was about to sneeze.  Here's where it gets good.  Rather than turning his head away from Ming, Andy sneezed directly on Ming, quickly glanced at me and then went right back to his laptop without saying a single thing.  What's even stranger is that Ming didn't say a thing either.

Woah!  It was remarkable!  I couldn't even remember the last time that I had observed some new human behavior.  So I asked Ming if he was going to tell Andy something.  Ming's quick response was, "It's ok it's ok."   Then I gave Andy a hard time...especially the part where he glanced up at me to see if I had witnessed his transgression.  Andy was not at all remorseful.  

It didn't bother me one bit that Andy sneezed directly on Ming...I thought it was hilarious.  But wouldn't it have been strange if I had made Andy sit somewhere else?  It would have been strange because Ming was perfectly capable of "exit".  Nothing was stopping him from sitting elsewhere.  So if he wasn't bothered enough by Andy's behavior to move...then why would I "eject" Andy from the couch?

A few days ago I was "ejected" from the EconLog Blog because of my comment on Bryan Caplan's blog entry...Is Bleeding-Heart Libertarianism Evil?  Here was the comment that I submitted...

***********************

You know who else wanted to throw the baby out with the bath water? My Mommmm!! That was a Muscle Man reference. Errr...he's a character on the Regular Show.

Actually, Murray Rothbard also wanted to throw the baby out with the bath water. The "minor" detail he missed was...well...the baby. Neither the government...nor the BHL project...is all bath water. The government does a few things pretty well...and so does the BHL project. You know what the BHL project does well? Heterogeneous activity. It hedges its bets. It doesn't put all its eggs in one basket.

There's Peter Boettke...From Capitalism and Freedom to Free to Choose...and Andrew Cohen...States Must Do Bad...and Gary Chartier...Violence, Wars, and States...and Jessica Flanigan offers some interesting food for thought... Can you sell your future self into slavery?

You know which part of the BHL project consists of bath water? The part where Zwolinski banned me from commenting on his website. My comments are pretty much priceless...so not sure why Zwolinski would want to ban me. Well...unless value is subjective. Which would be a pretty good argument for allowing taxpayers to use their taxes to indicate which part of the government is the baby and which part is the bath water.

Yeah, pragmatarianism is on the rise.

***********************

You can compare my comment to the EconLog's comment policy.  Or...you can just take my word for it that my comment did not even come close to violating their comment policy.   According to the e-mail I received, the problem was that it was the 4th time that I had linked to the Wikipedia entry on Tax Choice.

Clearly they were willing to tolerate the first three times that I sneezed on them.  But the fourth time was when they decided to put an end to my nonsense.  Everybody has a breaking point.

Is the problem with me or them?  Well...given that I've also been ejected from the Crooked Timber blog and the BHL blog...it would seem pretty straightforward that I'm the one with the behavioral problems.

It's not all that straightforward though because readers are perfectly capable of picking and choosing what they read.  If people decide it's not worth it to read my comments...then nobody is forcing them to read my comments.  They can easily "exit" from  my comments simply by skipping over them.  I have no problem skipping over comments.  Who has a problem skipping over comments?  Anybody who has difficulty skipping over comments will sacrifice a lot of their time to the Gods of the Internet.

The trick is understanding that...just because I might not find value in your comments does not mean that nobody will find value in your comments.  The subjectivity of values forms the basis of tolerance.  But moral arguments are not sufficient for tolerance.  Just because somebody understands the moral arguments for tolerance does not mean that they will understand why taxpayers should be free to choose which government organizations they give their taxes to.  People just don't understand why we should be tolerant enough to allow people to directly allocate their taxes.

Therefore, economics trumps philosophy.  Well...maybe not...but that will be the subject of my next post.  Unless my priorities change.

We, The People - Jack C. Haldeman II

Not too long after I started asking people about tax choice, a fellow on facebook mentioned that a science fiction story had been written on the subject.  Unfortunately, he couldn't remember the title of the story or the name of the author.  That was a year and a half ago.

Just yesterday, in this thread...How to Defeat a Liberal in a Debate...raytri had this to say about pragmatarianism...

Right. Because taxpayers are going to take the time to research all the available options and carefully weigh what needs funding.

For that matter, who decides what options are available to be chosen from? Within a broader category (like, say, defense), who decides what weapons systems will be bought, and how many?

We have representatives for a reason: they're supposed to spend the time developing the expertise and studying the options to make good decisions on our behalf. We can then judge them by the results, and vote them out if we don't like the results. It's a very rational division of labor.

The fact that many Congresspeople are idiots, or deep partisans from safe districts, is a problem. But direct democracy at the level of granularity you're talking about isn't a solution.

Are you a collector?  I sure am.  So I added his response to my collection...Unglamorous but Important Things.  But that's not all that raytri had to say about the subject...

BTW, there's a science fiction short story based on the premise of individual allocation of taxes. It's called "We the People", written by Jack Haldeman:  http://www.sff.net/people/jack.haldeman/people.htm

W00t!  Partial knowledge for the win!

The problem is thus in no way solved if we can show that all the facts, if they were known to a single mind (as we hypothetically assume them to be given to the observing economist), would uniquely determine the solution; instead we must show how a solution is produced by the interactions of people each of whom possesses only partial knowledge. To assume all the knowledge to be given to a single mind in the same manner in which we assume it to be given to us as the explaining economists is to assume the problem away and to disregard everything that is important and significant in the real world. - Friedrich Hayek, The Use of Knowledge in Society

Speaking of partial knowledge...I quickly updated the Wikipedia entry on Tax Choice.  Wikipedia, tax choice and Buddha's parable of the blind men and the elephant are all based on the concept of partial knowledge.

The science fiction story by Jack Haldeman was a lot shorter than I had imagined...it took less than 5 minutes to read...but it was even better than I had imagined.  Here's what Haldeman himself had to say about his story, which was published in 1983...

"We, the People," written in a flush of bitter anger, but with an undertone of hope -- has over the years gathered me more response than anything else I've ever written. It has appeared in a variety of newsletters from such diverse organizations as Libertarians and CPAs. I was told that someone once sent copies to all the members of the Senate when they were considering tax reform. It has been used in classrooms to teach the critical difference between a Democracy and a Republic. I wrote it years ago, but I feel it is as pertinent today as it was when it appeared in Analog magazine. - Jack C. Haldeman II, Political Science Fiction

1983 was a long time ago!  You'd figure that somebody would have already fleshed out the conceptual framework for the idea.  Why hasn't the idea gone viral yet?  If you get a chance check out Arnold Kling's blog entry...The Idea Factory.

Maybe going viral is a matter of connecting the right dots.  When I searched google for other references to Haldeman's story I found this large and relatively recent dot on the subject...Voluntary Tax Rates and Personalized Earmarks: How to Solve the Debate over Taxes.  How many more dots have to be connected before the tax choice movement can gain momentum?

[Update: 24 Aug 2017]

Just noticed that SFF.net shut down so the story is no longer available on that site.  I used archive.org to see a copy of the page.  At the top it says that commercial use is prohibited.  Sharing it here wouldn't count as commercial use.  I'd ask the author for permission but he's dead.  I'm pretty sure that he'd want his story to be read by more, rather than fewer, people so...

WE, THE PEOPLE

by

Jack C. Haldeman II 

       The eggs were just the way he liked them. Mark ate slowly, enjoying the luxury of a leisurely breakfast. Outside his window the city was beginning to stir. Rain had been programmed for last night, and the streets were still damp. Across the room his cat was curled up in a patch of sunlight on the sofa, his tail swishing back and forth. The apartment was quiet, and he dragged breakfast out as long as he could. Finally he got up, set his plate on the floor for the cat to lick, and walked across the room to his desk.

       "Good morning," he said automatically.

       "GOOD MORNING, MARK. DID YOU SLEEP WELL?"

       Mark looked at the words as they danced across the screen. "Kind of a bad night," he said. "My arthritis is acting up again."

       "THAT'S TOO BAD, MARK. WAS IT YOUR KNEES?"

       "No, just my hands this time." He looked at his swollen knuckles and ran them through his thinning gray hair. There were worse things.

       "THAT'S THE THIRD TIME THIS MONTH. DO YOU WANT ME TO FLASH DR. CROMWELL?"

       "No, that's okay. I'll be seeing him next week."

       "DO YOU KNOW WHAT TODAY IS, MARK?"

       "Saturday." It couldn't be his birthday. He'd told the desk to stop reminding him of those several years ago.

       TODAY IS APRIL 15TH."

       "So what?"

       "THIS IS TAX DAY. WE HAVE TO FILE BY MIDNIGHT."

       "I forgot," he said.

       "YOU HAVE BEEN PUTTING THIS OFF FOR MONTHS. SHALL WE START?"

       Mark looked around the room. The cat was busily licking the plate. He felt old. You could block out birthdays, but not the IRS. "I guess we might as well get it over with," he said.

       "THIS IS A PATRIOTIC OBLIGATION, MARK. YOU SHOULD FEEL PRIVILEGED TO DO YOUR PART."

       "Can the pep talk. Let's go."

       "DO YOU WANT THE SHORT FORM OR THE LONG FORM?"

       "Don't be stupid."

       "I AM REQUIRED BY LAW TO ASK YOU THAT."

       "Does anybody use the short forms?"

       "CERTAIN CONVICTED FELONS MUST USE THE SHORT FORM, HAVING SACRIFICED FREEDOM OF CHOICE."

       "I'm not a convicted felon and I'm not an idiot. Let's have the long form."

       "VERY WELL, MARK. BASED ON LAST YEAR'S INCOME OF $52,753.68, YOU HAVE AN ADJUSTED TAX OF $4,963.47. WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THE CALCULATIONS?"

       "Yes."

       Mark scanned the figures as they rolled by. His income was higher than he'd thought, but not much more than comfortable, what with prices these days. Semi-retired, he did occasional projects for a variety of ecological organizations. He worked at home. He didn't get out much anymore.

       "They look okay," he said.

       "DO YOU WISH TO ITEMIZE THE ALLOCATION OF YOUR TAX MONEY?"

       "Now you're being stupid again. Why else would I use the long form? Doesn't everybody?"

       "PLEASE DON'T BE HARD ON ME, MARK, I'M ONLY DOING MY JOB. I HAVE TO ASK YOU THAT. IN RESPONSE TO YOUR QUESTION, ROUGHLY 99.987% OF THE ELIGIBLE TAXPAYERS USE THE LONG, ITEMIZED FORM."

       Mark nodded. A person would have to be crazy to pass up the chance to say how his money would be spent.

       "AID TO DEPENDENT CHILDREN."

       Mark was old enough to remember the hungry times, the children who had grown up without hope. "One hundred dollars," he said.

       "OFF-SHORE DRILLING SUBSIDY."

       "Zero." They were almost all gone now, much to Mark's relief.

       "RE-EMPLOYMENT TRAINING PROGRAM."

       "Fifty."

       "NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS."

       "Fifty." He tried to imagine a life without music, without the sculptures and paintings all over town. He remembered how much Mary had liked the weekly concerts by the river and he recalled that day in the park with the kids and the dancers. "Make that seventy-five," he said.

       "NEUTRON BOMB RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT."

       Mark laughed. They tried to slip that old chestnut by every year. "Zero," he said. A bomb that killed people and left buildings intact was crazy, pure and simple. If they could refine it so it killed only generals, he might be interested.

       Mark relaxed and let the categories roll by. He always put his taxes off until the last minute. A lot of people did. 

       Alice Thompson was an actress. At 43, she felt her career was just peaking. She had worked her way up through the ranks from community theater to stage productions to Hollywood, from ingenue roles to character parts. She had a comfortable income, good investment advice, a secure career. She portioned out her calculated tax with good humor: the Actors' Old Folks Home, a theater scholarship at her Alma Mater, the Playwrights' Association, two summer camps specializing in drama, the National Repertory Theater. She had little interest in the mundane affairs of state and saw no reason to spend any money on them. She had a little left over. 

       Erik Hesse was a janitor. He was sixty-three and had been a janitor for over forty years, from the day he got married. It hadn't been a bad life, especially after the union came in. These days it was hard to get someone to do nontechnical work so he made a pretty decent wage. When the time came, Erik went to a tax preparer to find out how much money he had to allocate. He put it in off-track betting, weather control (he hated shoveling snow off the sidewalk), the sports cable network, two research projects that concerned beer, and woman's gymnastics. Erik had a granddaughter who was into somersaults. Even so, he had a little left over when he finished and no place to put it. 

       Raymond Montonero was a Supreme Court Justice. There was less and less for him to do, however. People were working their problems out together in an aura of optimism that astounded him. It seemed that the more control people had over the government, the more control they used in their daily lives. He carefully allocated his tax bite to the Congressional Library, scientific research, and social programs. He worried over the remaining balance for a long time. 

       Tom Hanna was a red dirt farmer in the Oklahoma panhandle. His family had worked the same land for five generations and even though it wasn't a large spread, it was theirs. He was a proud man, and when he came in from the fields that Saturday he took his taxes seriously. He allocated the bulk of it to the Farm Bureau and the County Agriculture Commission. The rest he parceled out to the two state universities for operating expenses. He had a boy down at OU playing football and studying to be a veterinarian. Still, he had a little left over. 

       And so it went that day, all over the country. People put money into the programs that touched their lives and ignored the rest. They turned out to be excellent judges of the things they needed. The quality of life in the country had improved tremendously since the introduction of the Uniform Tax Act.

       It had all started with a box on the tax form to support presidential campaigns. The next box to come along allocated money for the space program. Within two years the Mars project was completely funded. That unexpected success had lobbyists descending on Washington like a plague. Everyone wanted a special box on the tax form. Eventually they all got it.

       Economists predicted chaos, but what they got was cooperation. People knew what they wanted, and for the first time in history they were able to get it. Unpopular projects came to a grinding halt as money for them was withheld. Politicians were forced to be more in tune with the desires of the public. Control of the purse-strings turned out to be the ultimate democratic tool, even more effective than the ballot.

       Times changed. They changed for the better.

       Mark's cat had climbed onto his lap and fallen asleep. He relaxed in front of the desk, stroking the cat and responding to the programs almost automatically as they rolled across the screen in the quiet room. They were presented to him randomly. Each taxpayer got them in a different order, so that position on the list didn't favor any one program over another.

       Mark had been doing tax forms for years, so it didn't take much thought. He remembered his mother's last years and increased his amount for Aid to the Elderly. He allocated money for the school lunch program and aid for the handicapped. He supported environmental programs and medical research. Although solar energy was the norm now, he put a few dollars into geothermal studies. He refused to put any money into bailing out two major oil companies. If they couldn't change with the times, that was their problem.

       He studied last year's military expenditures carefully. What was the sense in having enough weapons to kill everyone on the face of the Earth six times over? He cut back even farther than he had last year. He made up the difference in veterans' benefits. Being one himself, he had a vested interest.

       Vietnam had cut a bloody swath through his family before he was born, but he hadn't managed to escape the oil wars and that fiasco in South America. The jungle had cost him two brothers, a hip, and a knee. No amount of aid could bring back his brothers or his friends. It had been such a useless loss.

       The words on the screen were blurry, and when he blinked his eyes he realized he'd been crying. He softly cursed. He slipped one hand out from beneath the cat and wiped his eyes. The words became clear once more.

       "THAT'S THE END OF THE LISTING, MARK. YOU STILL HAVE A BALANCE OF $795.32. WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO RUN THE SCREEN AGAIN?"

       "No." The tears were coming again, damn it. He blinked his eyes.

       "YOU MUST ALLOCATE ALL YOUR TAX MONEY."

       He thought of his brothers, and the times they'd had growing up. The days seemed bathed in the warm glow of summer sunshine. They were precious days, gone forever. He knew that every person who had died in any war on any side for any cause had been grieved for, just as he was grieving now. It tore at his heart. All that pain, all that suffering.

       "WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO RUN THE SCREEN AGAIN?"

       "No," he said softly.

       "WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADD AN ADDITIONAL CATEGORY?"

       "Yes." It was barely a whisper.

       "READY. ENTER NEW CATEGORY."

       "Peace," he said, and his single word floated in the quiet apartment.

       "COULD YOU PLEASE BE MORE SPECIFIC, MARK?"

       "I said peace, damn it," he shouted. "Everlasting, forever peace!"

       The cat jumped from his lap at the outburst, and Mark pushed his chair back, leaving the desk. His eyes were still full of tears, and he felt like a fool.

       If he was a fool, though, he wasn't alone. On that particular April 15 over two hundred million taxpayers added their voices to his.

       By Christmas it was an accomplished fact.