Well, let's take a look at them then.
I believe you jumped the gun there GS. What they are talking about is the differential related to the prebate.
The universal prebate essentially pays the FairTax rate on the "basic necessities of life" for ALL Americans, regardless of income, everyone gets the same amount every month. This way, no American will be paying taxes on food, or other "basic necessities". Since those near or below the poverty line spend a substantially larger portion of their income on the "basic necessities of life" than on "luxuries", the universal prebate will virtually eliminate their taxes, while those in higher income brackets will continue to buy the "luxuries" that lower income families cannot avail themselves of, so of course they will be paying more in taxes, but they will NOT be paying taxes on the "basic necessities".
Again, let's keep things in context shall we?
Let's consider the case of Warren Buffett, the third wealthiest man in America today. He himself went on a tear recently because the IRS tax code allows him to pay less, as a percentage, in taxes than his secretary and his cleaner! By his own admission, he was taxed at 17.7% on the $46 million he earned, while his secretary was taxed at 30% on the $60,000 she earned. All the FairTax does, by eliminating the IRS income tax collections arm, is to ensure that EVERYONE, regardless of income, is paying the same rate of taxes on their purchases. If everyone is paying the same percentage, where's the "class warfare"?
I fear you're not fully understanding how the "prebate" works. EVERYONE gets it, the difference is that the poor spend the majority of their money on the basics, and since the "prebate" covers the cost of the taxes on the basics, the poor won't be paying any taxes, on the basics, which will free up that portion of their money to spend on "luxery" items, that WILL be taxed.
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Again, I fear you don't fully appreciate the way the "prebate" works. The only thing "progressive" about the FairTax is that the more you spend OVER the poverty line (that the prebate covers), the more you'll be paying in taxes, but that's all. The "prebate", for a family of 4 (parents and 2 children), works out to be about $537.00 a month, while a single person, with no children, would receive about $199 a month. The fact is that all the "prebate" does is cover the taxes for the "basic necessities" and nothing more.
You're essentially correct, there isn't, but only because the rate is fixed, and the amont of taxes that anyone pays is directly proportional to the amount of purchases one makes.
Again, context is everything. Firstly, Hamilton was a monarchist, but that doesn't mean he was stupid, and it doesn't aleviate him of the responsibility for the "tax and spend" mentality we have.
GS, there is no "shifting" of the tax burden. Even if they increase the rate of the "prebate", even the wealthiest Americans will get it, just like the poor will, so "pandering" isn't going to effect it. As far as confirming anything, I would suggest that you go back and study it again.
To be perfectly honest, anyone who comes out with a stance, either for or against the FairTax, after anything less than 2 weeks of serious study, simply hasn't given it enough thought and is jumping the gun (no insult intended). Even after it came out, it took hard core professional economists, from both sides of the aisle MONTHS to study it, and apply it to our current economy, and the majority of them support it. The only people I'm aware of who are against it are people like Bruce Bartlett and that nimnod Stephen Moore.
I understand what you're driving at, but any flat rate income tax, is STILL an income tax. Perhaps I missed something, but I was under the impression that we were supposed to be working towards going back to an "original meaning" of the Constitution; Did I misunderstand? The Constitution, as written by the FF's specifically prohibited any type of tax that wasn't directly apportioned, and income taxes most certainly are NOT apportioned. The other thing that I oppose about any form of income tax is that it takes money out of the pockets of those least able to afford it, which is why I love the FairTax. Even to this day in my home state, they do not collect any taxes on unprepared food at the grocery store, because it is considered a sin to make people pay taxes on the most basic necessity of life. The FairTax, through the prebate, untaxes that necessity, your system still taxes it, before they can even go buy it. Maybe it's just me, because I did grow up poor, but dammit, when you have to watch your mother try to decide between paying the light bill or buying food because the goddamned government took her money before she could even buy food, that's FUBAR (f@ckedupbeyondallrecognition), and you don't forget it.
