Is the "Fair Tax" really fair, and a good idea for America?

[RickSp]

The old cliche is that a "fair" tax is tax that applies to the other guy but not to you.

Before worrying too much about breathtaking overhauls of the tax code, which lack the political will to happen anyway, I would love to see the US stop spending hundreds of billions on a war of aggression in Iraq, stop spending more on arms than the rest of the world combined, stop subsidizing wealthy farmers and oil barons, and stop putting up barriers to trade for the sake of the big corporations and rapacious unions. And that is just a start.

The problem is not that taxes aren't "fair" but that government is way too big. Rearranging the deck chairs of the tax code is not going to bring us one inch closer to to a freer, more prosperous society.

[SteveA]

Before worrying too much about breathtaking overhauls of the tax code, which lack the political will to happen anyway, I would love to see the US stop spending hundreds of billions on a war of aggression in Iraq, stop spending more on arms than the rest of the world combined, stop subsidizing wealthy farmers and oil barons, and stop putting up barriers to trade for the sake of the big corporations and rapacious unions. And that is just a start.

Oh that reminds me

4) Take away the government credit card and turn off the printing presses (they claim the card is in your name ... I don't buy it). Even if we "fixed" taxes, they'd just keep printing up more money and inflating it anyway. We're already seeing it in price increases. There used to be a reason ice cream was a nickel ... people traded tangible value. As far as I know the Constitution still requires states to use gold and/or silver but we've forgetten about the warnings against using paper. I don't think we have to actually use gold or silver but at least use a currency based upon something representative of physical value. The promise was that dollars would remain exchangeable for gold, after they declared illegal for people to trade using gold and confiscated much of it. Then they changed the exchange rate, effectively robbing people of their savings, and the same goes for SSI, it's just a different name.

[RVonse]

Quote by: RickSp The old cliche is that a "fair" tax is tax that applies to the other guy but not to you..

If you think about it, thats what all of politics boils down to. Who has to pay and who gets to receive.

Quote by: RickSp Before worrying too much about breathtaking overhauls of the tax code, which lack the political will to happen anyway, I would love to see the US stop spending hundreds of billions on a war of aggression in Iraq, stop spending more on arms than the rest of the world combined, stop subsidizing wealthy farmers and oil barons, and stop putting up barriers to trade for the sake of the big corporations and rapacious unions. And that is just a start...

I completely agree with you on the spending. But a tax code overhaul is still desparately needed if only to make it more simple. It is extremely stupid to have such a complicated system so that lawyers and accountants are required to do taxes for everyone. If you think about this for a moment from a macro economic standpoint this can only be a drain on America's GDP. Paying accountants for taxes is like a hole in the economy thats lets resourses run out of it. So paying taxes needs to be easier, more straight forward, faster, and simpler for everyone. Even if you keep everyone paying the same amount.

Quote by: RickSp The problem is not that taxes aren't "fair" but that government is way too big. Rearranging the deck chairs of the tax code is not going to bring us one inch closer to to a freer, more prosperous society.

But rearranging the deck chairs encourages high paid lawyers and accountants to do other things that would be much more benefit to society.

[SteveA]

RVonse, I love the way you view economics. Yes, too many economists get caught in number games and paper figures when real wealth is all about what people physically do to create it.

I wish they concentrated on this in economics classes more than all the economic measurements and Federal Reserve mumbo jumbo. (I'm not discounting the value of metrics to see where we stand and where we're, hopefully, going but they detach tangible value from economic calculations so much that the indicators are of little value).

[Zeebadee]

Quote by: Prometheus I think that a consumption tax would make people wake up and realize how much taxes they are paying. Right now it is kind of hidden how much we are taxed because it never makes it to our bank account.

This is exactly why you'll never see this type of tax system introduced in this country. The tax system is now so convoluted simply because the politicians don't want people to realize how much they are being taxed.

[Prometheus]

Quote by: Zeebadee This is exactly why you'll never see this type of tax system introduced in this country. The tax system is now so convoluted simply because the politicians don't want people to realize how much they are being taxed.

I fear you are right.

[Milton Bradley]

Won't the Flat Tax negate the obligations of the true intended taxpayer, the people recieving their income from outside the country?

[YourTokah]

Quote by: Milton Bradley Won't the Flat Tax negate the obligations of the true intended taxpayer, the people recieving their income from outside the country?

They'll still be buying goods and services in this country.