Conservatives, would you be happier about paying taxes if you could choose what your tax money was spent on?

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

On a broad scale, you do this when you vote in your President. Of course people have their own preferences as to how they would like their taxes spent, however most people accept this is not possible, as everyone has different views on how their taxes should be spent; and ultimately, sometimes what the people want their taxes to be spent on isn't always what's best for the country.

Perhaps governments could incorporate more direct democracy, such as referendums on proposed tax increases, although chances are once again that seeing as every individual hates paying tax, they may refuse to pay more when it is crucially needed.

What my tax money is spent on is largely beyond my control. The most I can do as a citizen is facilitate the sort of government that I seek, not just in terms of the money it spends but in terms of what the purpose of the government is, through the voting process for various offices.

Yes. I think I would. I'm not particularly upset about what I pay now (middle class), but taxes won't solve the issues. There's flat out not enough money generated in our entire economy to cover entitlements of Medicare and Medicaid. You may remember that from Obama's speech in 2010 and his campaign in 2008 when he agreed with this statement.

Yes.

I have always wanted this. But, politicians like to say "This tax is for the children", and then divert the money to some union fund. So, there would be little support for this amount of clarity in spending.

No. Any money taken from what I trade my labor for is coercion and theft.

I can understand that local governments need to tax something and traditionally it was land. Because land produces and can pay its own taxes. But to tax my labor is a direct affront to my Liberty. It makes me .... what, 25% of a slave? 35% of a slave? 50% of a slave?

The Federal government was supposed to be small, unobtrusive, have no impact on the ordinary man and was supposed to live off imposts, excises and sales of lands. And yet it still holds zillions of acres of BLM land which the Constitution does not authorize it to hold as though it owned it.

Of course it is impractical to pick what our tax money is spent on. That's what our elected Representatives are there for.

Don't get me started ;)

Yes.

There are certain constitutionally mandated expenditures....Defense, Courts etc....

But 75% +/- of Government spending is outside the Constitution.

Of course. Naturally. Although, I don't have enough income to pay taxes.

That'd be great! But for now, it goes to druggies and/or alcoholics who call rich people evil and greedy, when they don't even try to get a job and change their wealth status. I'm not saying 100% of welfare goes to people like these, I know there are many families who actually feed there kids with welfare, just saying the majority of welfare is used for this.

Well, sure. You could increase my taxes if I thought the money wouldn't be pissed away on things that don't work.

There is something kind of like this. It's called a charity. It doesn't involve a group of bullies called "the government" to steal from anyone and they help people.