The way tax refunds should be given out..

Taiwan like the rest of the world is also having its own economic crisis. Their government's stimulus package gives tax rebates in the form of use-them-or-lose-them vouchers which must be spent on goods or services. They cannot horde their rebate money away, which is what most rich people do when they are given any type of tax break.

This is a much more sensible way to stimulate the economy. The money will actually get out there and do the job it's supposed to do, not sit in a bank where it will never see the light of day again.

I was thinking that the US government could even issue bonds where the quarterly interest is paid out in the form of vouchers that must be spent. This would allow money to be continuously pumped into the economy.

Tax payers should have the right to see exactly how their tax dollars are being spent.

I think anti-government people think government officials squander their tax dollars on personal matters among other things. They are afraid of government corruption. There is no doubt that government corruption does exist, but perhaps not on the level that the right wing yahoos think or say there is.

One way to combat this is to give the tax payers an open window on where their tax dollars are being spent by using the Internet. All federal, state, and local government agencies should be required publish their budgets on the World Wide Web in an easy to follow format, and perhaps with a more detailed spread sheets that accountant watchdogs can scrutinize. Tax payers should have the right to trace where there tax dollars go, and the Internet can make this all possible.

I'm surprised that no one is demanding this, at least not loudly enough for me to have heard about it. [Actually there was an act passed by Congress to sort of allows for budget posting on the web, but I don't think it has been very effective] I am sure there are many politicians who don't want this. Perhaps they fear that certain projects would never get funded if the public knew how much they cost, or perhaps the right wing yahoos are right and they are doing illicit things with our money.