‘Tis the Season

I received my “e-organizer” from my tax preparer this morning. If I didn’t HAVE a tax preparer, I would probably have already received my tax forms from the IRS directly. In any case, it’s a sure sign - it’s tax season. Oh goody.

(It is also, incidentally, Sweepstakes season and white-sale season and exercise-mania season, but those all pale in comparison.)

I have a fantasy about taxes – that we should all be able to designate our own allocated amount of taxes to those parts of government service we feel best serve our own philosophy of, well, government service. We could actually, and personally, support the military, education, welfare, health care, foreign aid, research - or not. Those who feel strongly that the National Endowment for the Arts is an appropriate use of government funds can designate that their dollars go to that organization. Others might want to support roads and infrastructure, the IRS employee payroll, National Parks and Forests, Public Television, or a pay raise for their Congressional delegation. Maybe someone would finally make sure that pothole at 4th and Main got filled in.

I wonder if any of us would choose to support a $2MM grant to study rat migration patterns or the billion dollar budgets of the US Department of Education, for that matter? How far would the farm subsidy program go with “designated” funds? Anyone interested in paying Dick Cheney's salary? Would all the odd little military bases in prominent congressional districts still have funding, even though they may not have purpose?

Would bombers be built, space missions launched, or publications printed? Would there be money for fuel to fly Air Force One all over the country? Would we still have to empty our pockets and submit to a personal search to enter a Federal Court building? Would the NSA be snooping our phones and email?

How did we get into half of this stuff anyway? And why aren't we fully supporting the other half?

I think it would be very revealing of what our true national priorities are. And since it is likely that every one of us would be outraged at the result, I think it would be a good beginning at government reform.