Fuck you, Milton Friedman.

[cluebyfour]

[cross-posted to A Thousand Cuts]

Going forward, I shall refer to the day on which I prepare my family's tax return, which this year falls on January 30, as Fuck Milton Friedman Day.

Friedman, for all of his great contributions to economic theory and advocacy of the free market, was also instrumental in developing the Federal government's most

Comments

[cluebyfour]

Well, if it's coherent, then it's not much of a rant, is it?? (But thanks!)

[selfishgene]

It's one of history's ironies how many famous people are misremembered. People who did a hundred good things are remembered for one bad thing, while others are remembered for the one good thing done in a vile life.
Maybe Milton will one day be remembered only for withholding.

[ilcylic]

Well, you'd still have to file your taxes.

You'd just have to pay anything you owed in one big hunk.

Of course, so would everyone else, which would likely engender significantly more resistance.

[cluebyfour]

Well, yes, that's how it used to work until the 1940s. But you can estimate how much you'll owe and maybe set aside that amount, invest it somewhere and at least earn some interest off of it. Thus you actually reduce your upfront tax burden. Taxpayers liked that system better back in the day.

Now we're so used to that chunk of money being taken out with every paycheck that we probably couldn't go back to the old way of doing things. Way too many millions of people in this country trained to drool and bark on cue.

[deadpansev]

If we could ever get rid of withholding, you might start seeing Libertarians getting into office! I don't think April 15th means much to most people anymore as so many of them don't pay on that day. I almost always get a refund, so of course I don't wait (I want my money back as soon as possible).