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From: kfl%mx.lcs.mit.edu@MC.LCS.MIT.EDU
Newsgroups: mod.politics
Subject: Fixed taxes but choice among programs
Message-ID: <12233003280.32.MCGREW@RED.RUTGERS.EDU>
Date: Sat, 23-Aug-86 00:54:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: RED.12233003280.32.MCGREW
Posted: Sat Aug 23 00:54:00 1986
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    From: Lynn Gazis <SAPPHO@SRI-NIC.ARPA>

    ... [In this system] people pay the same taxes they do now but get
    to allocate them as they will ... instead of allocating the money
    on their tax forms (where the government could know what each
    individual's preferences were), they could fill out separate,
    anonymous allocation forms.  This would preserve anonymity, at the
    price of making it easy for people to lie on their allocation
    forms ...

  Actually, there is a way to guarantee that everyone pays the right
amount without allowing government to see what each individual
allocated his money to.  Each taxpayer would be issued a number of
ballots proportional to the tax he pays, and would secretly fill them
out and put them in a ballot box.
  I do not support this, but I do think it is better than the current
system.
  The logical extension of this is to allow ANYONE to make up a new
government program.  Since nobody would HAVE to pay for it, why not?
Why should taxpayers be compelled to choose among a limited
selection?  Surely it is possible that someone morally objects to ALL
of the choices, so why not allow him to make up new ones?  He has to
pay the same amount of money anyhow, right?
                                                              ...Keith

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