How to Abolish Washington D.C.

It's been a great Tax Day Weekend, I'm sure you'll agree. And as this exuberant day winds to a close, let's think about how we can avoid any more Tax Days.

It can't be denied that Washington D.C. provides several necessary functions. Education, highways, the poor, etc. If we abolished the government tomorrow, we would need to continue educating chidren, building roads, and helping the needy.

Here's an interesting website:

Third Way -- Your Federal Tax Receipt

Type in the amount you paid this weekend, and you'll be able to see where your paycheck went.

In addition to this money, the government also borrows some money, about 25% more. That's about equal to a minimum estimate of how much more it costs for the feds to build and staff a classroom, build a road, deliver a postcard, or provide a meal for the elderly than voluntary networks and businesses in a Free Market would do the same job or better. So if we abolished the government, you might do well to plan on spending the same amount of money (or perhaps less) as is being taken from your paycheck now.

Thus, if you paid $10,000 in taxes this year, that means you paid

$2,044.94 for Social Security benefits for rich New Yorkers who have retired in Miami and Scottsdale, AZ;
$2,017.15 for soldiers and predator drones to kill innocent people in foreign nations
$1,306.74 for Medicare,
$789.22 for Medicaid including all the fraudulent claims
$928.48 for foodstamps, SSI, Sec. 8 housing, school lunches, etc.
$661.32 in interest for those who loaned the government money -- you would save that amount if we abolished the government and started donating to charities for the needy and elderly.
$289.65 for Education

and so on.

If we abolished Washington D.C., there would be people at your door and mail in your UPS or FedEx box inviting you to contribute that same amount for those same (or better) services, and you would have to make a decision to purchase these goods and services from one or more providers -- or none at all.

Are Americans smart enough to handle this task? If not, why are they smart enough to be entrusted with buying their own food, clothing, housing, computers, appliances, cars, and so forth?

Are Americans charitable enough to give voluntarily to the needy? If not, how can they be entrusted with voting for compassionate, omni-benevolent politicians who will give our money to the poor?