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  •  Fantastic idea, deserves better diary title (none / 0)

    Lord, what a freaking good idea. But it deserves a better diary title; a vague one like yours pulls in the like of me but that's not good enough. As the queen of finding better diary titles, I hereby declare that this one should be titled "Blue states should shut down federal govt".

    Another idea along the same lines: we can ALL shut down the federal government by simply disallowing the withholding of our federal taxes from our paychecks, and socking that money away in an account to pay your taxes when they're due. It's my understanding that this is perfectly legal, but it would have the effect of CRIPPLING the federal governemnt.

    A word after a word after a word is power. -- Margaret Atwood

    by tmo on Wed Nov 03, 2004 at 11:56:45 AM PDT

    •  not withholding (none / 0)

      Sadly it is not legal to underwithhold.  You are required to withhold 90% of your tax bill for the year, and if you fail to you can be fined or theoretically jailed. (I did it one year by accident, they didn't fine me because it was about $8, but the IRS guy was pretty firm about the need to withhold correctly)

      by Wyrm2 on Wed Nov 03, 2004 at 12:25:06 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      •  taxes (none / 0)

        I believe there's no fine if the difference is $500 or less, or if it's more, but last year it wasn't.  

        It probably would make a noticeable difference if we all adjusted our withholdings so that we didn't get any tax returns, or even owned a small amount on April 15.  

        OTOH, the federal government is already so deeply in debt, they may not even notice more.  

        I like the idea pushing states' rights.  It is a GOP position.  They wouldn't fight it.  It's something that might pass.

        "Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist." - Kenneth Boulding, economist

        by randym77 on Wed Nov 03, 2004 at 12:44:28 PM PDT

        [ Parent ]

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