re: #231 Ceemack

I could cut my tax bill quite a bit with a form like that. ;-)

But there are a lot of reasons why your example of supporting the war doesn’t really work. Defense of the nation is a specific responsibility of the federal government, set forth in the Constitution; funding morally ambiguous medical research that may or may not lead to a cure for anything is not.

Private enterprises can conduct embryonic stem cell research. They can’t conduct a war.

The nation as a whole benefits from national defense. Only a very limited group of individuals would benefit from embryonic stem cell research, should it ever lead to a viable treatment.

I wish I could give you more than a single thumbs-up. The focus of the argument should not be utilitarian though (how many people can benefit from national defense, versus embryonic stem cell research). Rather, it should hinge on whether the decision in question can be settled privately or not. National Defense simply cannot: the government holds legal monopoly over the initiatory use of force. Stem Cell Research, by contrast, can be funded perfectly well through private donations and investment.