Z,
Think of taxes as the net amount you pay, forget pre-payments, witholdings, refunds, tax cuts, tax surcharges etc. There is a formula, and you pay some kind of net amount. So the second part of your post is completely meaningless. Nobody gives you anything back. (Except if you were on EIC, or some kind of welfare program). They only take from you, on net basis.
As far as using the money effectively, who doesn't want that?
I'm a firm believer in the concepts of "economies of scale," as well as "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts."
GM, Dell have economies of scale. It doesn't have to be government. There are some things that only government's economy of scale can solve certain problems (dislodge Saddam). And, on large scale vs. small scale, there are many problems that are better solved on small scale, on local level, even one on one.
There are examples of economies of scale working completely counterproductively. You are familiar with the NYC school system, prior to the reorganizations they started this year, or with Medicare / Medicaid, where NY spends $9,000 per individual, which is probably more than what we pay to cover 4 member our family in a private insurance, and I bet we get a better service (and the private insurance company makes profit on top of this - and pays taxes).
Joe |
