Re: Taxes and Timing
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I don't think this is a serious problem. The majority of people in the United States disdain taxation and think that taxation is too high. The problem is that the majority also support government programs. In fact, surveys have consistently shown that, when asked on a program by program basis, most people favor more government programs than are currently provided and more funding for the majority of current gov't programs.
And, of course, in order to provide the programs, gov't must either tax or go into debt (which people also tend to oppose). So the problem is that the majority want the impossible: less taxation, and more government spending. The reality in the U.S. reflects a 'reality-based' compromise between the two desires of the majority that are impossible to achieve simultaneously.
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Sure, they think it's neat that we have a department of education. What this "support" doesn't evaluate is whether it's worth $X of their paycheck to them. They don't have this information - I suppose you could calculate it, but the average taxpayer doesn't know how much $ comes from him to support certain programs.
In terms of taxpayer awareness, which I think is what the OP is getting at, something I would love to see is an actual annual Federal itemizing of your $ contribution to various government programs. When people actually see how much money they personally contributed to something they marginally value, maybe we'd get a little more activism.
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