On Oct 27, 2008, at 9:24 AM, John Williams wrote: >> I don't mind paying taxes > > Do you voluntarily contribute more than is required by law?
Was going to reply to this earlier but was interrupted by some technical difficulties .. I probably would, actually, if I had more margin between my income and expenses (currently couldn't afford to even if I wanted to), and if (much bigger if) it were possible to designate which programs I was contributing to. I don't really see the point in adding a tiny trickle to the flood of money that's being poured into military action in Iraq/Afghanistan at the moment, and even if I were able to contribute over and above what I'm legally obligated to, it would basically just be wasted at the moment. But if I had it to give, and could be certain that it would go to domestic social programs or anything else that went to helping out people who genuinely needed it, yes, I most likely would. The system doesn't work that way, so for now at least, I contribute what's required and leave it at that, but I'm not going to delude myself into thinking the daily operations of the government of a country this large don't come with a price tag, and until I sit down and do the math for myself, I'm not inclined to argue too much with the system as it is. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
