Aw crap, I thought MtnGoat had drifted away into the realm of the politically obscure and irrelevant, but here he is talking up the SUVs and a theory of volutary taxes.
Hey buddy, ever hear of the tragedy of the commons? Well there you have it. If everyone did the right thing we would all end up ahead, but since we can't all coordinate to do the right thing we do what's in our own immediate self-interest and lose out on the opportunity for common gain.
I don't personally give the government an extra $500 every year, because I know it won't do any good unless everyone else does it as well. It ain't some moral deficiency, its a practical view on government taxation policies. We need EVERYONE's $500 to make a real difference. MY $500 won't make a difference, but I will certainly participate if government, our representatives, make the decision that everyone collectively should kick in to balance our pathetic freaking budgets.
Why is it that the conservatives scream about fiscal responsibility and then cut taxes on the rick, spend $100 billion on the war and run up our national deficit? How the hell is that fiscally responsible? I call that fiscally fucked up.