I like this. I think our democracy (or whatever we've got now) will continue to crumble until and unless "we, the people" get a sense, individually, of the cost

I like this. I think our democracy (or whatever we've got now) will continue to crumble until and unless "we, the people" get a sense, individually, of the cost of paying for what we pay for, and our share of the cost. Until that happens there will be no honest discussions about what we really value and prioritize. Your proposal would do that neatly. The system is way out of whack, lends itself to corruption, crony capitalism, rent seeking, and entitlement. We all have our favorite tax breaks (which is why it's been so hard to change), but we really need to get back to basics: every dollar you get is income taxed at some level, and everyone gets some standard deduction, and that's it. No weird industry tax breaks (because, arbitrarily, politicians decided we wanted more, or less, of a certain thing: cars, homes, solar, coal, etc...), just clear numbers we can grapple with.