You paid $10k of taxes this year? Here's for you a free pass to all national parks.

You paid $50k? Here's the card - similar to the one police officers give to their wives - that lets you get off minor infractions.

Small tokens of appreciation often go long way.

That aircraft carrier might be the big weight in a trade negotiation or prevention of a regional conflict which could escalate.

Representative democracy should work better, because you (the voter) judge based on the outcome, and vote, rather than try to understand every possible policy (which is going to overwhelm any individual anyway).

However in response to your point and in fairness to OP you can’t in the overwhelming majority of places decide where your money goes. It’s just pooled and used for whatever government wants to do with it. This is what most people have a problem with.

Personally I can see the merit in having some shared system but it should voluntarily always. Compelling people’s money through state sanctioned force which includes fines and imprisonment is sick. It promotes a parasitic relationship with government where people don’t feel part of it. Instead they feel smothered by it.

From this, would it be logical to conclude that at least three people believe that this is not a good idea?