Or, just pay your taxes. We collectively benefit from them.

Up to now, I would have agreed with you. However, many residents of cities victimized by ICE see paying federal taxes as money that goes directly toward an enemy that is destroying their communities. I will happily pay my city and state taxes, but I no longer feel that my my federal tax dollars are helping much.

I live in Minneapolis, MN. The Federal government has cut public health grants, Medicaid, laid off a large portion of he Department of Health, cut Department of Human services, cut school funding, cut University of Minnesota funding, cut heating assistance, cut flood mitigation, cut USDA programs, and cut SNAP. This is just the things I can remember! Our city hosts Hennepin County Medical Center, which provides emergency care to the entire state, and it is risking closing due to federal cuts.

Minnesota has historically paid more in federal taxes than other states, and contributes more than it gets back. I think it's time for a change.

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racingmars 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Is there really any correlation between tax revenue and spending at the federal level anymore? It seems the U.S. government is willing to spend at huge deficit levels. If everyone stopped paying federal taxes I suspect nothing would change.

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celeritascelery 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

What would change is the government would need to greatly increase their debt. In 2025 the government got about $5.23 trillion in tax revenue and spent about $7 trillion. So most of the government spending is financed by taxes. Remove that and the rate of debt quadruples (and by extension inflation).

	▲	asdff an hour ago \| parent [-]
		When do we finally hit the cliff? Deficit has been going up for decades.

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marcandre 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Magical thinking! You may as well recommend the government prints more money and give it to everybody...

In FY2025, the U.S. federal deficit was $1.78 trillion, with total revenue at $5.23 trillion, so clearly it's a majority of revenue.

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charcircuit 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

We collectively benefit if you give me $1000 and I give you $1. That doesn't mean it's a good deal.