Fair Tax BlogburstBy Nancy Matthis | Wednesday, November 29th, 2006 at 10:41 am
by Jonathan of Publius Rendezvous
Now that the aftermath of the elections has subsided, I want to follow-up on what Terry Dillard said in the Fair Tax Blogburst a couple of weeks ago about grassroots campaigning. As we have mentioned on countless occasions, whether you are a Republican or Democrat or Libertarian, the FairTax is for you.
I myself did not heed my own advice for I grew disconcerted immediately after the election for the Fair Tax’s prospects. Being an individual who leans right of center in virtually every facet of my life, I thought the Democratic Party would not be the party to implement the Fair Tax.
But the more I think about it, the more I grow somewhat optimistic. Why? Well, the Democratic Party has promised to reform government in many ways, and one in particular is ethics reform and reducing or eliminating earmarks. This is where our grassroots campaign must be decisive. We must remain vigilant to stay one step ahead of societal evolution in bringing the nation our message. The Fair Tax fits this agenda. It will and is designed to work to disrupt and eliminate the albatross that is our current system.
People around this country can and are already beginning to realize this phenomenon. Take Mr. Stephen Sanders of Fayetteville, NC:
Congressional scandals were a part of the changes in the last election. Many citizens cast their votes out of disgust at the influence-peddling of some congressional representatives and their highly paid lobbyist friends.
Quite often, this influence-peddling involves special tax considerations for those who hire the lobbyists. The lobbyists make large salaries by persuading members of Congress to tweak the tax code in favor of the lobbyists’ clients. This is where loopholes, tax incentives, tax exemptions and tax exclusions come from. It is a large part of why the U.S. tax code is so complex and convoluted. It is also why we desperately need the Fair Tax.
The Fair Tax is very aptly named because it is, unlike the current income tax, fair. The Fair Tax replaces the income tax with a national retail sales tax. Under the Fair Tax, there are no exemptions, no loopholes and no special consideration for the privileged few. There is no convoluted tax code that even Internal Revenue Service experts cannot figure out. And because the Fair Tax treats everyone the same without exceptions, exemptions, and loopholes, there is less influence-peddling.
The FairTax Blogburst is jointly produced by Terry of The Right Track Blog and Jonathan of Publius Rendezvous. If you would like to host the weekly postings on your blog, please e-mail Terry. You will be added to our mailing list and blogroll.
|
Send a link: Tell a friend about this. Link to this post: Permalink Send us your link: Trackback link |
Filed under: Fair Tax |
2 Responses to “Fair Tax Blogburst”
November 30th, 2006 at 6:49 am
More often than not, when one hears about the Fair Tax sales tax, they are not getting what is actually being proposed. Most of the literature I receive calls for a VAT sales tax which puts the collectibles in excess of the 23% tax usually proffered in conversation.
Oone more item for the cranium. With the government, what ever number you get for the tax, consider that number to be a floor.
December 2nd, 2006 at 5:03 pm
As an economist and former White House budget analyst, intimately familiar with the many games politicians play to line their pockets and augment their influence through the appropriations process, I have some very strong opinions about the “fair” tax.
From a strictly economic theory standpoint, the fair tax, more properly a national sales tax, whether imposed on retail goods alone or at the various stages of production like Europe’s Value Added Tax (VAT), makes some sense. It does bias spending toward saving, which is good, but at the same time could have a depressiong effect on current economic activity, which could be bad in the short run.
But my fears about the “Fair” tax are political, and this is the much more relevant point of reference. There is no lack of examples of politicians doing mindless things economically (raising taxes, minimum wage, social security) in order to increase their influence.
What WILL happen if someone proposes a national sales tax is this: we will get it. BUT IT WILL BE IN ADDITION TO, NOT IN PLACE OF, THE INCOME TAX!!! As such, it will simply be another source of revenues for policians to expand government at our expense. Finally, the poor are always more heavily impacted by consumption taxes – the sales tax is a tax on consumption – because they spend most or all of their money on current consumption. Thus whoever supports the sales tax will be accused of wanting to hurt the poor. It’s a red herring over the long term, but will create real burdens at first. I would bet that Democrats would support such a bill for the revenue potential it offers, but then once passed would attempt to blame it on Republicans, who they will claim, don’t care about the poor.
It is a bad idea politically for all the above reasons and should not be pursued!
For a full treatment of this issue see “Fair Tax Revisited” in the March 2006 archives on my blog (www.truthandcons.blogspot.com).