I thought of this whilst I was in Denmark but most people didn't seem to care.
I don't know if this idea is original, feasible, but would like to hear your thoughts.
In a lot of lectures, books etc many Austrian Economists often point that consumers in a voluntaryist society would be unlikely to support social regulations such as prohibition as the costs of the enforcement are high, and once they took a look at their insurance bill they would think with their wallet instead of their....ethical beliefs they want to impose on others.
Also, in the market when you make a purchase you receive a receipt. Usually stating what it is your buying.
However, when you pay your taxes you don't see any of this. Your just paying for government services (local, state, federal), but you don't really know how much of your taxes is allocated to what. Yes you can receive a copy of the budget.
So, do you think it would be worth it, if there were some non-profit or company that provided this service? It would let you know how much of your taxes is going to what government service, and how much your share of the current debt is.
Do you think this might help people to think with their wallet?
There are things like this published, how much of your tax dollars go to what gov't programs and services. It doesn't change the fact that you can't choose not to pay and safely get away with it, you are forced to pay whether you want to or not.
So no, it wouldn't help people think with their wallet.
WisR:how much of your tax dollars go to what gov't programs and services
Are they personalized however? e.g of your $40k in taxes $2k went to this particular program. $X went to war in Iraq.
WisR: It doesn't change the fact that you can't choose not to pay and safely get away with it
I would agree that people would feel that this is something that they cannot change as easily as with a private service. However, they would at lease be confronted with a number. Everyone draws the line somewhere.
OMG. Stossel just did what I suggested at the end of his segment tonight. ><
Here is an example of what I'm talking about. http://content.thirdway.org/publications/335/Third_Way_Idea_Brief_-_A_Taxpayer_Receipt.pdf