If you would not let your employer do it then why your government?

What extra crud are you talking about and why don't you know what your government is spending public funds on? Yes, my original response was directed at areas that most people can relate to but I can be very specific about government spending on a local level because my state has recently been hit with severe budget cuts. Some of the programs hit, which may or may not be crud, are: Medical needy programs for low income families Programs for pregnant women Funding to community colleges were cut Funding to pay for firefighters & EMS were cut The Public Defenders office lost funding The Office of Parole and Probation lost funding Hospitals are losing funding Nursing homes have lost funding Schools are losing funding On a national level, the federal government has had to cut back funding for drought assistance and other assistance programs for farmers. Homeland Security, Education, HUD, Energy, Transportation, Environmental Protection, Veterans Affairs, Social Security and more are supported by our tax dollars. I'm not saying that there is no crud and no wasteful spending but, as a whole, our tax dollars benefit our communities and our families, protect our futures and allow us to be able to assist people around the world when disaster hits.

I am not saying that bike paths, mass transit, walking paths etc are not important but the question is who should pay fir it. The Gas tax was a user fee to have the people who used the roads pay for them. Now they are saying that there is not enough money to maintain the road so we need to increase the gas tax. A couple of examples, in New York State the Staten Island ferry used to cost $0.05, per trip to use, some people felt it was unfair to the people who lived on the Island to have to pay so it is now free(due to an increase in the gas tax). There are bridges from Staten Island to New York City. In Minnesota the 8th Congressional district receive Millions in Federal Highway funding. The smallest category was for Highway construction and maintenance. The majority went for new buses, new walking and biking paths, building shelters along these paths, and a new Bus Terminal for Duluth. Why can't they charge a fee on the sale for each Bicycle and require a sticker to use the Bike trail? If it is important to them let them pay for it. I have no problem with asking a person who wants to get out of jail to pay a small amount for that privilege. The same goes for government health care, a small payment would prevent people from running to the emergency room for a small cold. This is what is driving up the cost of hospital care. Why should I pay for the extras for everyone when I can't afford them for my family? This fall under the category of Redistribution of Wealth or Communism.