<i>Before World War II, the government did not know what anyone made. Only the wealthy and upper-middle class filed returns—less than 10 percent of the population. The system was based on what the irs called “self-assessment,” which meant that the taxpayer told the government what he or she earned the prior year and then sent a check on March 15. Some information returns were sent to the government, but the government had no capacity to match the return to the taxpayer and the returns piled up in warehouses. Not until 1962 did the government’s computer system begin to efficiently match the information returns to the taxpayer. During the 1920s and 1930s, the tax system relied almost entirely on the honesty of taxpayers.</i><p>It&#x27;s amazing to think that there was once a time in US history when the government could sustain itself through the honesty and goodwill of the richest 10% of its citizens.<p>I wonder what would happen if we returned to the goodwill tax model. If we had a simple tax code with self-reported earnings where we spent far less on hunting down and punishing cheaters and freeloaders, and instead left it as a matter of conscience for those who had amassed their wealth and raised their families through the good grace and fortune of living in the US.<p>Do you think our collective social fabric would be strong enough to fund an effective government? Or are we too far down the path of the self-centered, get mine at all costs, cheat the system if possible mindset?