In 2002, Virginia set up a special fund for the benefit of those who, either because they believed they were not taxed highly enough or because of an outpouring of generosity, were inclined to voluntarily pay the Commonwealth of Virginia more money than they legally owed.
Since then, reports the Washington Times, the fund has collected $10,217.04. “Public generosity reached its high point in 2003 when Virginians forked over $6,602. The low point was in 2006, when the state received a measly $19.36. “That’s a tad shy of what it takes to cover a $74 billion biennial budget.
Gov. Mike Huckabee first instituted the idea in Arkansas. In his book, “From Hope to Higher Ground,” Huckabee explained the thinking behind the idea: “It was a potent way of pointing out the hypocrisy of the insincere vocal minority who proved by their failure to write a check that they wanted more taxes to be paid, but they wanted them to be paid by someone other than themselves.”
Remember, the art of politics is all about getting the government to give you what you want — and getting someone else to pay for it.
