The problem is no one wants to pay for the boring necessary work like funding inspections for the water treatment facility, but instead would focus on sexy cool things like space launches or new trails in Yosemite
You baseline that stuff and then add additional boxes you can check. California does it as additional “gifts” but the federal return does it already for the presidential slush fund. You could increase that more - add a 1% tax but you get to check a box and determine where it goes.
Mathematically it wouldn’t do much but it would make people feel more invested I suspect.
Comments
The problem is no one wants to pay for the boring necessary work like funding inspections for the water treatment facility, but instead would focus on sexy cool things like space launches or new trails in Yosemite
You baseline that stuff and then add additional boxes you can check. California does it as additional “gifts” but the federal return does it already for the presidential slush fund. You could increase that more - add a 1% tax but you get to check a box and determine where it goes.
Mathematically it wouldn’t do much but it would make people feel more invested I suspect.
Fun fact: the US Treasury accepts donations to pay down the debt: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/gift/gift.htm
You can also donate to the general fund: https://www.fiscal.treasury.gov/public/gifts-to-government.h...
Your first link doesn't work.
Looks like it moved :
https://www.pay.gov/public/form/start/23779454
Hence the "some of them optionally".