>I don't believe I am able to pay enough to make a difference. I donate money and goods to a couple, carefully selected, charities every year. Having volunteer

>I don't believe I am able to pay enough to make a difference. I donate money and goods to a couple, carefully selected, charities every year. Having volunteered for them on a couple of occasions, I can definitely tell you my relatively modest help DID make a big difference to at least a few families. I am not forcing anyone else to be charitable, yet there are many people who give (much more than I do). There are two problems with your thinking: - the return on our taxes paid in the USA is very, very low - we pay only a bit less in taxes then people in Europe, yet the infrastructure is crumbling, there are lots of desolate/mentally ill people in the streets, etc. - you seem to want to FORCE people to pay more tax for your noble causes. Guess what - not everyone will agree with you what they are. That's why taxes should be limited to defense, law enforcement, public infrastructure, standardization, etc.