No matter the amount, whether it is taken from us, given freely or rendered begrudgingly, the aspect
that is most concerning about taxes is
how that money is spent.

When someone complains: Why are they spending tax dollars on the mating life of Banana Slugs?,
what they are actually saying is, “I don’t want MY money spent on that.”

When someone complains: They take 35% of my income and what do they do with it?,
they're probably not simply complaining about the percentage taken, they may also be saying,
I want some say about how money, which I earned through my labor, is spent.”

When someone cheats on their taxes, or avoids taxes, or pays no taxes, it’s their way of saying,
“I don’t want to contribute any more than I must to the government's wastefulness.”

Of course 'wastefulness' quite simply means, stuff I don’t want MY taxes spent on.

The question is, What can we do about it?
The answer is:

                     

                     
ABOUT TAXES
The TAXPAYERS’ RECOMMENDED BUDGET
Let each taxpayer allocate, dollar for dollar, what their taxes are to be used for.
As it is now:
How our tax money is spent is determined by our representatives in Washington DC. These so-
called representatives are like dogs; unless strictly instructed otherwise they assume that
everything they do meets our approval. Unfortunately, the only instruction these people
ever get is from lobbyists and special interests, and their decisions are therefore guided by self-
interest. As it is now, we cannot force these people to recognize, let alone accept, a higher
responsibility. And, as it is now, it doesn’t matter if we agree or disagree with what they do, they
will do what they will, and we are, pretty much, helpless to do anything about it.

As it should be:
The people in Washington DC would listen carefully to the will of the People and attempt to
represent that will when dispersing our hard-earned tax money, rather than broadcasting it
carelessly, thoughtlessly, mindlessly, as if feeding chickens.

How do we make that happen?
Admittedly and unfortunately, we are not in the position to
tell Congress what they can or should
do. Constitutionally speaking, it is their job to make those decisions, and they seem well aware of
it. They’ve purposefully placed themselves out of reach of the taxpayer. They either consider
themselves too big and too important to listen, or they are overwhelmed with other concerns--as
some people seem to believe--or they don’t yet recognize who they work for. We can however
TRY to tell them how we feel; there’s no law against that.

In fact, as I understand it, it is our patriotic duty to do so.

So, how do we do that?
                             The Taxpayers’ Recommended Budget

The Taxpayers’ Recommended Budget is a form, that each taxpaying citizen includes with his
taxes, upon which he allocates every single dollar of his taxes to the budgetary items which
concern him most.

With this simple form each of us tells Congress
directly what we'd like to see our taxes used for.
Collectively
we tell them, “THIS is what we want from government, and this is how much we are
willing to pay for it.”

Of course, sadly or shamefully, Congress will do whatever it wishes. But, IF Congress were to
honor taxpayers by seriously considering the information found in The Taxpayers’ Recommended
Budget,
it would be…well, there really are no words for such a miracle. But, by any name, our
government would TRULY represent the taxpayer’s wishes.

By this process we will have accomplished many things; we will have established a purer form of
representative democracy; we will have
composed a prototype Federal Budget; we will have
eliminated special interests, lobbying, bribery, greed and stupidity from the budgetary process.
By ear-marking our tax dollars, we will not only be expressing each our own various political
concerns, in all likelihood, we will also create a tax system under which more people might more
willingly cooperate. At once, (this is my guess) we will present a more humane visage of the
United States of America at home and throughout the world.

Additionally, those people who otherwise might cheat or avoid taxes might be encouraged to take
a greater part in the process. Also, since those people who pay no taxes will have very little say
about how
the money provided government by those who do is spent, there’s an incentive for
them as well. But, mainly, Congress will no longer have to guess what the People want their taxes
spent on, thus decreasing the power of special interests. Data provided by
The Taxpayers’
Recommended Budget
will tell our representatives precisely and unquestionably what we want
from our government.
from:
LOST IN THE DIN: Why Your Opinion on Politics and Religion
Means Nothing, and mine means even less
by, Henry Edward Fool