Your Money, Your Choice
Your Money, Your Choice
BY CAIT LAMBERTON
Democracy, A Journal of Ideas, SPRING 2011, NO. 20
https://democracyjournal.org/magazine/20/your-money-your-choice/
https://democracyjournal.org/category/magazine/20/
The article proposes the idea of tax choice, which allows taxpayers to allocate a percentage of their income taxes to any portion of the discretionary federal budget.
The article claims that tax choice can increase taxpayer satisfaction, shift spending priorities toward more socially productive investments, enable individuals to compete with moneyed interests in policy-making and appeal to a broad political spectrum.
The article explains why people hate paying taxes, citing psychological factors such as distance, diffusion, and reactance.
The Author reports the results of an experimental study that shows that tax choice reduces reactance and increases the sense of social benefit among taxpayers.
The article discusses the implications of tax choice for the distribution of political power and the allocation of public resources, especially in reducing military spending and increasing spending on education, energy, and science.
The Author suggests ways to implement tax choice, such as using online or paper forms, conducting a pilot program, or testing it at the state or local level.
