What our taxes pay for

Frustration with taxes and government spending is high these
days. Specific opinions as to where
the government is overspending are fewer and farther between. Most taxpayers
don't know what they'd like to see cut, partly because they don't know how the
spending breaks down in the first place. (Elected officials are often hesitant
to get specific as well; that's a topic for another post.)

The policy proposals offered by Third Way—a leading
center-left think tank—often disappoint with their oh-so-careful incrementalism.  But here I think they're right on: when
you pay your federal income taxes, you ought to get an itemized receipt. In a policy
brief (pdf) published last month, Third Way's David Kendall and Jim Kessler
make the case for such a service and explain how it could easily be
implemented.

Here's a sample receipt for a middle-class earner: