A proposal to encourage financial independence and responsibility, and to reduce the government's role in our lives: Instead of income tax being withheld from our paychecks, allow workers to save that money in savings accounts and CDs, and allow the interest earned there to be tax-free.

Then the worker gets to choose how much is put away every month, not the government. The worker gets to earn interest tax-free all year on his/her contributions, then pay the tax due on April 15th, and have a little left over to get a headstart on next year. The IRS could put a calculator on its website estimating how much to save monthly given different levels of income.

Two policies need to change. 1) Make withholding optional. If you don't trust yourself to save, you can continue the current method of paying taxes. 2) Allow interest on all savings accounts and CDs to be earned free of tax. This would also be a great way to encourage savings in general and to recapitalize the banks without doing it through Stimulus Plans.