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If you keep your receipts, will you be able to return a defective product?

October 04, 2010

A policy outfit called "Third Way" thinks we would be much happier with our government if only we got a receipt explaining how our leaders spend the money they take form us under threat of arrest:

With apologies to Syms clothing, progressives might have a better chance of winning greater funding levels for programs that invest in children, education, energy, environment, transportation, innovation, foreign aid, humanitarian assistance, and housing if taxpaying citizens had a better idea of how their money is spent. Most of these items represent a pittance of government spending as compared to other items in the budget.

...

We suggest providing each taxpayer with a receipt that shows them exactly how their money is spent to the penny.

I think Instapundit gets it about right:

The notion that people would be more supportive of big government if they knew where their money was going betrays an almost touching naivete.

Third Way suggests a receipt that looks like this:

It would be helpful if it could be presented in an alternate format. For example, the Social Security line could be broken out into multiple categories, something like:

-Social Security benefits going to people with a higher net worth than you ever will have. $200

-Social Security benefits going to others with a higher net worth than you have. $200

-Social Security taxes being put away for your retirement: $0

-Other Social Security benefits: $640.71

You could have fun with this all day. I don't see a cetegory for ag subsidies in the Third Way receipt. You could break that into categories like:

-Corn price support money going to buy a new F-150 for a farmer with a six-figure net income.

-Money going to ADM and other ethanol producers under the guise of "green jobs"

-Money going to rich lawyers with marginal ag ground through the CRP program

-Cash going to that Spanish turbine maker to make money-losing windmills

The biggest problem is that given the size of the federal government and the intrusiveness of its spending, the postage required to give every taxpayer a fully-itemized receipt would need its own line item.

More from the TaxProf, Kay Bell, and Megan McArdle.

Update: More from Veronique de Rugy and Dan Rothschild.

Update 2: I'm clearly late to the party. More here and here.