Quote:
Originally Posted by JSH
Your complaint and the perception that government is wasteful is why we don't have a simple tax structure with one pool of money that is divided up as needed like you claim you want. Instead we have this:
State Highway Fund
Oregon’s State Highway Fund collects resources from three main sources:
- Taxes on motor fuels, including gas tax and diesel tax.
- Taxes on heavy trucks, including the weight mile tax and truck registrations.
- Driver and vehicle fees, including licenses and vehicle title and registration.
Under the Oregon Constitution, State Highway Fund fees and taxes must be spent on roads, including bikeways and walkways within the highway right of way. State funds can be used for both construction projects and the day-to-day maintenance and operations of the state’s roads. |
A single pool of funds can still maintain accountability for spending. To say that all of fund x must be spent on use x is kinda silly, because needs aren't always consistent and predictable. If there's an over funding in one area for a particular year, those funds should be shifted, refunded, or rainy day funded rather than wasted.
My wife and I have (in essence) a joint account. It's not like we budget for food and if we hit our food budget decide we're not eating for a few days, and likewise if we have excess food budget, don't splurge on fillet mignon.
Either certain services are both essential and best administered by the state and should come from the general fund, or they are inessential or better served by other entities and not funded at all. Everything else is incompetence, ignorance, or corruption.