I’m with Megan, I think this is a great idea. I doubt very much the effects of would be easily predictable. I certainly don’t think the “unspoken assumption” Megan plausibly identifies would be obviously rewarded. Indeed, I think many middle-income Americans are undertaxed given the amount of government they are demanding. Giving them this sort of receipt would make that more clear — and, hopefully, make them more amenable to spending cuts and tax reform. I certainly doubt it would generate massive support for higher taxes. Even better, I’m for anything that reduces the mytho-poetic-religious b.s. we’ve heard so much of about government in recent years (it’s the word we use for the things we do together, it’s the realization of the biblical covenenat to be our brothers’ keeper, blah, blah, blah) and replacing it with the language of fee-for-service. The more Americans see government as a product they’re buying, the more they just might realize A) the service is pretty lousy and B) they might be able to get better service elsewhere.
