What if the United States government did this with our tax dollars!

I have a lot of friends and family who have never been outside the borders of the United States. This is a fairly large planet with a WHOLE BUNCH to see and experiance. Many countries, many cultures, and amazing landscapes! Not to mention nature in every form.

So with that it mind why don't people travel and experiance all that this planet has to offer? ANSWER: $$$$$ ... As many of you know to take a trip, for example, from the United States to Ireland is going to cost you in the range of $1200 to $2000 per seat, JUST for the flight itself. Then add in the hotel, car, food, etc...and your spending a ton of cash.

Now, since we all agree, and even though you would never know it these days, the government works for us. WE THE PEOPLE supply EVERY dollar to the government that they spend. So what if for once we had a say in how that money is spent. Well here is my suggestion for tax dollar use.

The United States government starts and funds an international public transportation airway. We as tax payers are then allowed to use this transportation to fly anywhere in the world for our vacations at no cost. Kind of like your city buses, trains, etc...just on a much larger scale. This way we know atleast SOME of our tax dollars are actually being used the way WE want, and the use itself benefits those who make the country tick. I mean imagine being able to work, pay taxes, and when you and the family want to go to Germany, the UK, Japan, Ireland, Brazil, etc...you simply go and budget for the expenses IN that country.

The requirements to use this airline would be:

- US Citizen WITH proof
- US Tax payer WITH proof (i.e. If you can't produce a tax return for the prior year, you don't fly)
- I also think I would impliment face to face booking. If you want to use this service the government would open up offices around the nation and you have to go in to the office and provide your proof in hard copy, meet the travel agent, and get the old fashioned feel of getting something done.


I mean the government robs, and rapes us yearly, why not get SOMETHING out of it, rather than watch them piss it away to other crap. Thoughts?

I say that we tell the Government there will be no more unnecessary spending of tax dollars, and if they don't listen we call for a violent revolution. JFK once said "Those who make peaceful revolutions impossible
will make violent revolutions inevitable".

Hey, how about this instead? Lower taxes on everyone, that way if someone wanted to travel they would have the extra money to pay for it themselves!

reply to post by Carseller4


Hey I am all for it...but I was thinking realistically...lol. Sad i know but you and I both know that will never happen unless the U.S. falls.

Neat idea!

Maybe then we wouldnt be lining the pockets of countless politicians.
The millionaires that run our country.

Heck they might even have to make a salary like most of us...under 100k a year?

A few points:

1) The government would abuse it, like every other drop of power and penny of tax it gets.

2) I would tell the government where to stick that program. I'll take my cash back if you please.

3) Traveling the world IS a good experience. One far too few Americans actually takes advantage of.

I had an idea for the tax system. Add an optional form to the 1040. It would be a list of check-boxes where you can specify how your tax dollars would be spent. You support the wars in the Middle East? You can allocate a percentage of your taxes for that. Think government run health care is a good idea? Apply as much of your tax dollars to that as you like. Not a fan of the Wall St. bailouts? Don't allocate any of your tax dollars to it.

The money would have to spent according to the way the American taxpayers decide. What could be more fair? Any money not allocated by taxpayers would be spent at the government's discretion.

After all, it's your money. Why shouldn't you be able to specify what your tax dollars fund?


Eh? What? Oh, time to get up. I'm awake now. Had a nice dream.


BTW, I really agree with the travelling part. Being a minortity in someone else's culture helps you to learn to be tolerant of minorities in your own culture.

[edit on 29-12-2009 by VictorVonDoom]

Taxes would probably be better spent improving infrastructure and wages for the common citizen. It is a good idea though. Definitely better than spending money fighting wars that cannot be won and making more foreign enemies.

Originally posted by rcwj1975

The requirements to use this airline would be:

- US Citizen WITH proof
- US Tax payer WITH proof (i.e. If you can't produce a tax return for the prior year, you don't fly)

Would Barrack Obama be able to use this Airline service?

[edit on 29/12/2009 by Dark Ghost]

reply to post by VictorVonDoom


I like your idea VVD, but you and I know that no matter what boxes you check they will just lie and still put money where they want. It's like voting for a president! How do we REALLY know or can trust the vote counts anymore....we can't!

Originally posted by Dark Ghost
Would Barrack Obama be able to use this Airline service?

Ha...good question! Many on ATS would probably say he wouldn't be able to...

Hahaha..

You don't want to pay for freaking HEALTH CARE for everyone ..

But you are more then fine with wasting TAX Payer Money to buy unnecessary plane tickets (and accommodations i assume) ??

Do i laugh or do i Cry ??

This would be an unmitigated disaster that would put hundreds of thousands of people out of work and cost the taxpayer billions upon billions of dollars. It would, quite simply, be one of the biggest engineered economic catastrophes in the history of the Republic.

The Bureau of Economic Statistics reports that, in 2007 (the last year for which data was available) domestic tourism recycled $602 billion back into the US economy.

Now assume this mammoth, free government airline exists that's flying US residents and their holiday dollars out of our borders and to the Bahamas, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Costa Rica, Brazil, etc. How many American hotels, restaurants, gas stations, amusement parks, etc. will go out of business? How many people will end up unemployed and on the dole?

Besides, if you don't want to pay $1500 for a plane ticket to Turkey, taxing yourself $1500 to have the government pay for your plane ticket to Turkey really is a zero-sum game.

reply to post by VictorVonDoom


I had an idea for the tax system. Add an optional form to the 1040. It would be a list of check-boxes where you can specify how your tax dollars would be spent. You support the wars in the Middle East? You can allocate a percentage of your taxes for that. Think government run health care is a good idea? Apply as much of your tax dollars to that as you like. Not a fan of the Wall St. bailouts? Don't allocate any of your tax dollars to it.

On a very much smaller scale Italy has a very, very roughly similar system designed to support organized religion.

About 1% of Italian income taxes are allocated according to a checkbox you fill out on your income tax statement. You select any religious denomination and that denomination receives an amount of money from the Italian government annually equal to 1% of income taxes divided by the total percentage of people who designated it. If you don't designate anything, the funds revert directly to the Italian state treasury.

The Catholic Church annually makes about a billion euros off of this, the Lutheran Church about 3 million, etc.

That said, to do something across-the-board for purposes of general governmental operations would be an absolute disaster. Responsible budgeting needs to occur with a holistic view of all other line items, not in 300 million vacuums.

[edit on 29-12-2009 by zenser]

Ha! Years ago a friend suggested that instead of locking up nonviolent youthful offenders for around $100,000 per year we just handcuff them to a (paid) travel companion and send the two of them off on a (foreign) vacation for the duration of the sentence.

It would be cheaper and probably more effective.

To the best of my knowledge we know where your federal income tax money goes.
Some may be old enough to remember. Back in da day, your returned checks were all stamped on the back. Deposited to the Federal Reserve Bank. It may have changed since then, but I'm relatively certain it is still utilized to pay the interest on the Government debt.You may want to run this free airfare thing past Bernanke first.