[deleted]
Thanks For Paying Taxes. Here's A Receipt.
31–40 of 194 posts
Re: Thanks For Paying Taxes. Here's A Receipt.
#32Original paper (not blogspam, if you feel okay calling some of NPR that): http://content.thirdway.org/publications/335/Third_Way_Idea_...
This is a brilliant idea, and in the spirit of a democratic republic, I'd say. I'm paying taxes; it'd be nice to know what exactly I'm paying for.
I'm also for listing all the expenses; down to the ones that end up costing you a millicent.
Perhaps yet more feasible would be setting up a real tax website, with real information, and accessible tax records for all. On this website you could also find your receipt. If only…
Re: Thanks For Paying Taxes. Here's A Receipt.
#33Not a bad idea. But why does it say "selected items"? I haven't added the numbers up myself, but one of the comments says that the listed things add up to only sixty-something percent of the total. Where's the other money gone? One might almost think they're trying to make a political point with their careful selection of items (eg. "Combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan" somehow got to fifth place on the list wh…
Well, they probably could have done the same job by grouping. If they combined combat operations with military personnel, for example, that would bump it up to third-largest.
Leaving out specific items is an obvious way to work an agenda into it, but manipulating the groupings could do the same thing, and more subtly at that. With a little gerrymandering, the receipt could say pretty much anything.
Re: Thanks For Paying Taxes. Here's A Receipt.
#34Not a bad idea. But why does it say "selected items"? I haven't added the numbers up myself, but one of the comments says that the listed things add up to only sixty-something percent of the total. Where's the other money gone? One might almost think they're trying to make a political point with their careful selection of items (eg. "Combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan" somehow got to fifth place on the list wh…
This is, after all, NPR...no surprise the war was prominent as they have a decidedly progressive news team. I won't call NPR liberal, but certainly left of center, and very critical (as they should be) of the wars.
Well, actually it's Thirdway.org, who've been plugging this idea for a few years now, but since it's somewhat progressive too, your point may stand. My sense was that Thirdway was deliberately trying to avoid being overly inflammatory: they don't, for instance, specify the amount of military aid to Colombia to fight the drug war, or the amount to Pakistan to fight terrorists, or to Israel to fight whoever Israel ends up fighting next.
Re: Thanks For Paying Taxes. Here's A Receipt.
#35I've always liked the idea of a receipt to be given to Canadians at the end of every year telling them what healthcare benefits they got and how much they cost.
It seemed like it would make people grateful that they had that service, but it also might make the people who pay disproportionately more than they use angry (and the nature of insurance is that most people put in more than they get)
Re: Thanks For Paying Taxes. Here's A Receipt.
#36Not a bad idea. But why does it say "selected items"? I haven't added the numbers up myself, but one of the comments says that the listed things add up to only sixty-something percent of the total. Where's the other money gone? One might almost think they're trying to make a political point with their careful selection of items (eg. "Combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan" somehow got to fifth place on the list wh…
This is, after all, NPR...no surprise the war was prominent as they have a decidedly progressive news team. I won't call NPR liberal, but certainly left of center, and very critical (as they should be) of the wars.
I think the bias in the table actually goes the other way. By breaking down, and omitting parts of, military spending, they make it look relatively minor compared to SS, Medicare, and Medicaid. They have also chosen to display SS intakes, not outflows, which is a $400B difference.
Re: Thanks For Paying Taxes. Here's A Receipt.
#37Funny, my local county government lists where all the taxes go. It's amusing (or enraging, I guess) to see we still pay for a Tuberculosis sanitarium.
Re: Thanks For Paying Taxes. Here's A Receipt.
#38The late senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan supported sending people statements of what was in their social security. His idea was that if people never saw what was in there, they'd never miss it when it was gone. I think this is a logical extension of that idea, and its great. I'd also like to see the flip side of the receipt contain a guess for how the same tax amount would break down the following year based on curre…
We do get annual statements from the SSA. The benefit amounts listed on mine are not insubstantial. (Whether you believe those numbers of the long term is a different question...)
Re: Thanks For Paying Taxes. Here's A Receipt.
#39The late senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan supported sending people statements of what was in their social security. His idea was that if people never saw what was in there, they'd never miss it when it was gone. I think this is a logical extension of that idea, and its great. I'd also like to see the flip side of the receipt contain a guess for how the same tax amount would break down the following year based on curre…
It's definitely a great idea, given that members of both major political parties are absolutely loathe to touch the biggest sources of government expenditure: old person benefits (social security + medicare), and the military. Medical services for the poor (medicaid) are comparatively minor, but you wouldn't know it, given how much emphasis the Republicans place on the question of the "welfare state".
With greater public knowledge, perhaps we'd finally be able to move past the irrational demonization of expenses that don't matter (but win cheap political points), and focus our attention on the actual problems.
Re: Thanks For Paying Taxes. Here's A Receipt.
#40Here's another nice visualization of US government spending: http://www.wallstats.com/deathandtaxes/
This is amazing. I find it incredible that only .100 billion is going towards "Financial Crimes and Enforcement" given the huge amount of fraud and outright criminal activity that has occurred in our banking sector. This is actually down 10% from last year.
Regardless of your political views, left or right, this shows you what the priorities of our government are.
After the S&L crisis in the 80s, over 1000 banksters and fraudsters were convicted and imprisoned. Why is it that none have been convicted and imprisoned now?