[okfn-discuss] Receipt, please

Tue Oct 13 12:00:31 UTC 2009

2009/10/13 Becky Hogge <becky.hogge at gmail.com>:
> Hi all
>
> I was reading this on the train yesterday, and I was impressed with
> how well the author captured what we're trying to do with WDMMG
> (http://wiki.okfn.org/p/Where_Does_My_Money_Go) by using the simple
> idea of a receipt for tax payers:
>
> http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/caitlin_moran/article6868223.ece

The receipt idea is neat (perhaps we could adopt it graphically!) and
it's also good to emphasize that promoting this kind transparency can
be just as much about feeling good about where money goes as
criticizing it. We were explicit about in the original WDMMG proposal:

Users of the service will be able to see where their own money is
spent or where it comes from, as well as where money across government
is spent and where it comes from. Existing government transparency
would be built upon to help citizens discover their own part in
government economic activity -- thereby encouraging them to take a
more active interest in, and a more thoroughly informed engagement
with, the official institutions around them.

> The last three paras:
>
> "But you know what would, in a single stroke, make tax-paying much
> more popular in this country? And might even keep my incredibly close
> friend Tracey here?
>
> "A receipt. After all, whenever I’ve just blown £227 in Waitrose and
> feel a bit alarmed by it, it’s oddly comforting to read through the
> receipt and say to myself, “but at least I have a lot of yoghurt now”.
> Similar comfort would be experienced by the taxpayer if, in exchange
> for a large cheque, one was simply issued with a print-out of what
> you’d just bought yourself: £2,000 for the NHS, £600 for streetlights,
> £2 for Prince Andrew, etc.
>
> "And of course, once you’ve got a receipt, it’s much easier to claim a
> refund . . ."

Yes, indeed (e.g. can I have all that money back for Trident please ...)

Rufus