Why Don't I Believe This?

According to Bill Harbaugh & other researchers at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Paying taxes is a pleasurable duty. What planet are they from?

According to the news report, the study consisted of giving "19 female university students $100, and told them some of this money would have to go towards taxes." Using brain scans to prove this they also claim that the same research enabled them to predict "which people are most likely to donate cash to charity." They say they got the following results: "The 10 subjects who showed the greatest brain activity in response to hypothetical taxes in the first part of the study later chose to donate money twice as often as the other nine subjects."

I won't go into all the details of the experiment, you can read them by clicking on the link. What I have to say is that this has to be a joke. They can't be serious. There are so many things wrong with how they went about it as well as what practical experience & history show to be the truth.

1st of all, this was an experiment using 19 female university students. Anyone with any understanding of statistics knows that this is not representative of the general public. It was all females, all the same age. No men, no older adults no cross representation of the general populace.

Next, this is a single study. NO other studies have been done to confirm the results. None at nall Not even one using 19 female university students, let alone any other group that even approaches a accurate sampling of the tax paying public has been done to confirm that these results accurately represent female university students at the U of Oregon, Eugene, let alone any group anywhere else.

3rd, what kind of controls were used? Apparently none. More flaws.

Then there is the ratio of 10 to 9. There is only 1 more person in the enjoys taxes enjoys giving column. What about the margin of error, esp with so small a sampling?

Now onto history & my own experience.

Let's see now, what was 1 of the big factors that contributed to the Revolutionary War, the Declaration of Independence & the birth of a new nation? Does the phrase "No taxation without representation!" ring a bell? How about the Boston Tea Party?

Then, let's not forget what happenned during President Washington's time in office. For those of you who forgot, it was the Whiskey Rebellion & took place in 1794. Ehy were they upset. Because in 1791 Congress impossed a tax on distilled spirits. Then there was a tax on houses during Jhn Adams administration that resulted in John Fries's Rebellion.

It is this next fact that makes me question the results even more. That fact, the financial/investment industry has as a HUGE part of it what we know as tax shelters. Why would so many people be looking for ways to avoid paying taxes if it was so enjoyable? For that matter, if paying taxes is so enjoyable why do so many people by savings bonds, state & municipal bonds that are exempt from local, state &/or federal taxes?

All this versus 19 female college students seems to be saying 1 thing. That entire study is so full of holes it would make a Swiss Cheese jealous.

As a friend of mine I shared this with said: "This could only come from Oregon." He goes out to say that if paying taxes is as pleasurable as they claim, then why not make paying them voluntary?

Good point! The article says that voluntary giving to charities results in the the brain scans showing "an even greater boost in brain reward centres than paying mandatory taxes."

"Harbaugh explains this bigger boost has to do with the fact that voluntary donations are a personal choice: "You feel better because it was your agency that made the difference. Usually, when you are giving, people are watching," he says, which can be an ego boost." Wouldn't voluntarily paying taxes bring the same results resulting in more being paid in taxes?

We all know the answer, people pay taxes, not because they like to or even want to, but because they have to. If they didn't have to, they wouldn't. I know I wouldn't. (Instead I would get more joy out of being able to give more to charities that used to go to taxes. Wait, that has happenned since the Bush tax cuts a few years ago. & I am on the lower end of the income scale that supposedly got no benefit from those cuts. I did, & the fact I'm paying $750-1000 less each yr in Federal taxes makes me happier then if I was still paying them. What makes me less happy is that I now have less to deduct on my state return, thus paying higher state taxes.)

However, according to Harbaugh, it isn't because they have to that they pay them. He thinks that "people probably like paying taxes more than they admit." Wait, there's more. "He believes the results of his new study help explain the widespread compliance with tax laws. 'We like to complain about it, but based on what we do, we are not as opposed to it as we like to say,' Harbaugh says. " This quote proves he is another Ivory Tower dweller that is out of touch with reality. It is not because they like paying taxes that they do it. Most people see taxes as a necessary evil. An evil to be avoided as much as possible. The reason most people comply with tax laws is simple, no matter how much they hate paying them, they are LAW ABIDING, ETHICAL & MORAL CITIZENS. They obey Jesus' command to "Render unto Caesar". They pay what they owe, no less & definitely no more than they have to. (With a few exceptions.)

I have to wonder if Harbaugh had a few wires crossed when he did the brain scans? & I wonder even more what his political motivation is in trying to prove this? Whatever it may be, common sense & facts prove that he is wrong in his claims. Harbaugh, it is time to climb back into your Ivory Tower, lock the door, throw away the key & disconnect the phone, e-mail, etc so you can continue to live in your little fantasy world & let the rest of us get on with our lives. Including not having to see a portion of our taxes going to pay people like you.