It is quite simple. We are ruled by fear.
I pay taxes due to the fear of losing what freedom I am allowed to have at this point.
Should I, for example, refuse to pay my taxes to protest the funding of Planned Parenthood abortions, people with guns will come to put me in a cage.

When you realize that there is so much oil available today there is no need for ethanol which is costly to produce, unless of course you are a farmer raising this specific corn which is not edible because you are getting money from the government to raise the stuff. and the beat goes on!

And I would hazard a guess that - absent the government extortion - there would be plenty of funding offered voluntarily for such endeavors by interested parties.

Favorite part of the article is the Jeblary picture mashup. ;)

I agree with this. I don't know how to get the discourse moved from the utilitarian merits to the question of whether it's important enough to use violence to get the money to fund it. I always think of something like research grants to study something important like a new kind of heart monitor or something related to treating cancer. It might be a great program. The people doing it might be great scientists taking funding where they can get it. They're not at all moochers. That doesn't make it right for gov't to fund it with tax dollars.

Good points in the article and some good comments, too. Thanks, helidrvr.

"Which is why the coming election doesn't matter." I agree. Good article. It makes me want to research the Whiskey Rebellion.