The Fair Tax - No Politics Please!

I don't know alot about the Fair Tax. I mean, I know what it is and how it would be funded...the basic stuff. But when it comes to the intricacies and details, sometimes I have a hard time explaining it to other people. They always seem to holler "Plague!" and run like hell when someone even mentions the "t" word.

I listen to Neal Boortz several times a week on WKOV, the Jacksonville talk radio station. He's on from 9am to noon, the exact time when I'm in my car. I've been a Boortz fan for several years now, and I like the fact that we're about the same age. I can relate to the stuff he talks about, especially the Ft. Lauderdale scene in the 60's - I was there. And yes, I think Neal gets over the top every now and then, but alot of it, I believe, is fluff. Ratings fluff maybe, but I believe that deep down inside he's a cream puff. A very smart cream puff!

Last week he mentioned the fact that other radio talk show hosts would not champion the Fair Tax because it would give credit to one of their competitors, and that's a no-no in the radio business. I understand that. And to his credit, he also said that Sean Hannity was the only one that had even dared to mention the Fair Tax and gave it a brief and somewhat favorable "endorsement".

So if the "biggies" (specifically Limbaugh and Hannity) won't even talk about it on-air, it remains a daunting task to inform the American public about it in order to get the average citizen up to speed on it's virtues. The Fair Tax people have done an excellent job at spreading the word and the Tea Party has really made a huge difference in heightening the awareness of it. All in all, the word is slowly getting out.

Here's what I know about the Fair Tax:

1. The Fair Tax will replace the idiotic outdated income tax system that we now have.
2. Every tax that is currently paid by individuals (us!) to the federal government will disappear. That's right - every tax!
3. Federal taxes paid by businesses will disappear.
4. It will abolish the IRS as we now know it.
5. The current tax system will be replaced by an inclusive retail sales tax. When you purchase a good or service, the tax will already be included in the price, not added at the time of payment.
6. Every household will get a monthly credit for the necessities of life (food, shelter, clothing and transportation). This mean that you in effect get a credit up front for taxes you will pay that are already included in the price of those items.

Regarding items 5 and 6, the Fair Tax will be a 23% tax on all retail sales of goods and services. That was the number that was arrived at, I believe, to replace the current tax revenues at today's level.

Important...important...important: That number (23%) just about equals the amount that is currently embedded into our retail prices by the taxes that are paid and passed on to the buyer. In other words, the retail prices that we pay today would be about the same as we would pay under the Fair Tax.

Some other trivial items: It's my understanding that three or four billionaires concocted this idea and paid some pretty big bucks to some prestigious financial gurus to research this and come up with an alternative to the oppressive system that we now have in place.

Now, of course there is more to it than the six items I listed, but really - not much more. That's the beauty of it - it's pretty simple and straightforward. I'm far from an expert, I just know that after a couple of years as a passive listener, I'm verrrrry comfortable with everything that I've heard and read. To me, it's a no-brainer.

I'm a firm believer that this would catapult America into the position as the economic Camelot of the world. Think about it - no federal taxes on businesses. Can you imagine the international companies that would beat our door down to locate here? Think of the millions of non-persons (illegals, etc.) that pay nothing now and would be paying their fair share under the Fair Tax.

And imagine a world with no more income tax preparation. ..no more "cheating"...no more April 15th!

Okay, so having said all that, I need to ask Rush and Sean to step up to the plate and get on the Fair Tax train. C'mon guys, Neal Boortz isn't going to take anything away from you guys. You're huge! This thing is good for everyone. You don't have to do anything more than say that you've read it and that you think it's a heck of alot better than what we have now. Everybody wins...especially America!

And that seems to be in short supply recently. Now...are there any politicians listening???