FAIR TAX. Is It Fair?

[Mr. Ected]

My firm sponsored an event last night, and the keynote speaker was (gag) Neal Boortz, loudmouthed faux-libertarian mouthpiece for all things right wing.

Mr. Boortz's fiercest cause these days is the implementation of the fair tax. Having listened to his well-reasoned rhetoric, I found myself compelled to support the idea...in principle.

But I tossed and turned all night, and woke up feeling like I'd slept with the enemy.

My father, a life-long Democrat, is of the opinion that the fair tax is a nefarious ploy of the conservatives and Republicans. And yet, I am aware that more than a handful of Democrats are ostensibly in favor.

What do you know, what do you think, how would you reply?

[SoCalDem]

1. If the first $75K was tax-exempt and everyone over $200K paid 40% n/t

[ulysses]

2. no, it isn't.

If Boortz favors it, it's probably wrong, and in this case, "it" does nothing except ramp up the tax burden on the poor.

[WoodrowFan]

3. it's shifts the tax burden downward

It simply shifts the tax burden to the middle and workling classes. It's pushed by people like Steve Forbes. When is the last time Steve Forbes gave a damn about how much money those less well-off than him pay in taxes??

[Mr. Ected]

5. That's Why I Doubt It Myself

When Hitler offers day care, I'm not sending my kids there.

[Fovea]

4. Fair

And balanced.

Or not.

[dkofos]

6. Only to millionaires and billionaires.

[depakid]

7. A very basic economic concept tells why it's bullshit

It's called "the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility."

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/lawofdiminishingutility.asp

In this case, the "product" is money- and the more one has, the less each addition dollar is "worth" to them.

Taxing every dollar- or even most dollars, at the same rate is inherently unfair -because they're not "worth the same."

Libertarians for some reason tend to be blind to (or deplore) this concept- if they've ever even considered it.

[Mr. Ected]

9. Fascinating. Thanks for the input.

I'm going to study up on this and pose the question the next time Boortz tries to spread his propaganda.

[SergeyDovlatov]

8. no. It only pushes tax liability around. Some will benefit, Some will lose.

Check for which organization are pushing it. Probably their constituency are the winners of the fairtax scheme.

[yella_dawg]

10. Neal Boortz is a psychopath.

Any idea he supports is highly suspect.

The fair tax scheme is an attempt to shift the tax burden even farther into the laps of the middle class and to give the poor a bigger liability. My bet is that the "rebates" are a scam to make this horror look more enticing, and they would evaporate almost overnight.

Just remember it's Neal Boortz pushing this crap. That's all you really need to know.

[TahitiNut]

11. I think it's interesting that nobody talks about how it'd require a Constitutional Amendment.

The Federal Income Tax required an amendment because the Constitution clearly restricts federal taxation to one based on population ... not income and not consumption. The whacko-right-wing has, for years, claimed that the FIT is unConstitutional and not enforceable for that and other insane rationales. Now we see their stooges pushing a "fair tax' ... and ignoring precedent. Makes ya wonder what the game really is.