How come I can vote a yes or no vote for new taxes or bonds? But cannot choose where the money I give goes to? Should that also be my choice?

Comments

• DagwoodIII@piefed.social ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Let me ask you this.

  What do you know about building roads? Running schools? Setting up a lab to do cancer research? Keeping a navy afloat?

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  • Patnou@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    Building roads would keep, basically we need to scrap our high school, don’t know why we would need a navy since we are a land lock state… and on cancer research that should be my choice because i would like more given to it.

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    • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

      Way to completely miss the point.

      People go to school for years to do these jobs. You don’t know better than them.

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  • Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    I didn’t know how to read or write when I was born, but I adapted! I’m sure it would be fiiiiiiine!

    Now, where should we build this cancer research facility? Oh, how about inbetween the marlborrow plant, and the burning tire yard? Fits perfectly!

    And you don’t HAVE to keep a navy afloat. They’re on boats! They float on their own! Duh!!!

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• TachyonTele@piefed.social ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  You voted for someone to represent you. That person then hires a team of people to assist them in making decisions about complicated things, such as the education system, the transportation system, sewage system, finances for all of those plus a hundred other things that no one person on the planet can know at once.

  Then that person makes a decision in they believe to be in your best interest.

  If you don’t agree with that person’s decisions then you can cast a vote for somebody else to replace them.

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• ryathal@sh.itjust.works ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Most bonds or tax increases I vote on say what they are for, and the money has to be spent that way. I can’t decide the specifics, but I can vote yes or no on road maintenance, or school funding, or whatever.

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  • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    Most people here won’t even know what you mean when you say “bonds” in this context.

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  • AA5B@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    I’m quite cynical about it. No matter what is short money, the funding is always for education or fire fighting. It seems more likely they always shuffle around the budget so the shortfall always end up where we’ll vote for it

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• ExtremeDullard@piefed.social ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  You can choose where your money is spent: it’s called elections.

  For instance, vote for orange pedophiles and your money is siphoned off and given to billionaires, Gestapo-like paramilitaries, middle-east forever-wars, fuck-flights and Barbie advertisements for the DHS Secy, and personal jet-setting for the FBI Director.

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• brygphilomena@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  First. Because the government serves more than just you. So your priorities don’t always align with the needs of the entire populace. There are lots of things that need to be funded, but you don’t even know about.

  Second, you can to a certain degree. Most charitable contributions are tax deductable. Meaning you can lower your tax burden by selectively funding what you want.

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• corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  You vote for that by choosing the political team with the spending policy that best represents you. But it’s a bundle and not spending decisions a la carte.

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• HerbalGamer@sh.itjust.works ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  You’re asking for direct democracy.

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• mlc894@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  I wouldn’t want to have to take time to review budget proposals for my municipality, province, and country every day after I get off work. We have people for that.

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• zxqwas@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  It’s expensive to have elections.

  You can also not choose where your money goes to. If I choose all my money goes to schools, am I still allowed to use the road? How about choosing everything except street lights and promising to not go out after sunset?

  Pick the politician that says they will fight for the proirities you prefer the most. They may not get their way but there are other people in the (country/region/town) with other preferences than you and you still get to use the roads, schools, streetlamps and whatnot.

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  • Patnou@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    Now you lemmies with the roads and stuff reminds me of contract theory from the 5th grade.

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