Kickstarting an Object

Big news. I just launched a kickstarter project to raise funds for a book to be called "The Object Tax." The goal is to pre-sell 40 books at $20 a piece. I will blog about this project on the URL: ObjectTax.Blogspot.com.

If this Kickstarter project is a success, I will consider self publishing other works about topics mentioned in this blog.

The Object Tax is quite interesting. The proposal is for Congress to launch an Open Source Project to create a system of Tax Aware Accounts as an alternative to the current tax withholding system. It is named after Object Oriented Programming.

In computer speak, the Tax Aware Account is an object that wraps around a bank account. When you withdraw money, the program would calculate and pay your taxes. So, if you deposited $1000 and your progressive tax rate was 20%. When you withdraw the funds, the account would send $200 to the government and give you $800.

I am hoping the project appeals to people who are interested in advancing open source programming as well as to people looking for innovative approaches to tax reform.

As you see, the object design metholodogy encourages people to think about a topic from an abstract design perspective. Approaching tax reform from a design perspective gives people unique insights on the flow of money through the economy and the effects of taxation at different levels.

The Object Tax simply states: Let's approach tax reform as if it were a computer project. Approaching taxation from this perspective gives additional insight. The way I see it, the more insight we have on the effects of different tax proposals, the better.

This Kickstarter project is my first stab at self publishing a book.

I had considered self publishing works in the past. I decided against the idea because I worried that I would not be able to make enough sales to cover the cost of publishing the work.

I live in Utah. Utahans are a tad hostile to creative thought. Years ago, I tried helping my next door neighbor, Ryan Hiller, sell an album he had recorded when he was 17. In three years, I managed to sell one CD for one penny. Fortunately, Ryan was smart enough to move to San Diego where people support independent musicians.

I set my Kickstarter goal at selling 40 books for $20 a pop. This would raise $800 minus Kickstarter fees. My $800 goal isn't quite enough to pay all of the publishing printing that I will face in self publishing the work, but I think 40 copies is a reasonable target.

The Kickstarter campaign ends on May 13, 2015; so, I will be spending this next month nervously watching the funding bar to see if I get any pledges for the project. I will post the chapters of the book on the blog ObjectTax.blogspot.com as I finish editing them.