You are thinking highly of the public if you believe they will turn down money in their pocket for some nationalist idea of doing the "right thing"
If the government sets income taxes to 15% who would say
"that's alright ill pay 35%, i can afford it, and you guys really need the income"
If you were offered a 15k home buyers grant, would you turn it down?
what if the government said "hey guys we need to pay down our debt, so no tax refunds this year. We are going to keep it all...Its for the good of the nation"
Can you imagine how quickly that policy would be burned on a cross?
The fault lays with the politicians who buy votes by implementing short term unsustainable policies.
The responsibility is on them, because they alone have the knowledge, the power and the responsibility to offer the public sensible choices.
