American Middle Class Continues To Be Slowly Wiped Out

[Truckerman79]

I would move to eliminate the pre-bate from the fair-tax and move to exclude essential items from sales tax. We currently do this already, with groceries, so I don't see why extending it to basic clothing needs would be any different and/or harder.

If you want to spend your poverty money on gucci bags, then you can pay the tax on it. No need for a pre-bate.

The problem with getting rid of the prebate is that the actual sales tax rate would have to be much higher. Illegal immigrants, foreigners, people here on work visas, anyone who is not a citizen will not get a prebate and will be paying the tax on everything, including the essentials. To exclude food an other items from the tax will erode the base.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

There isn't even anything saying that all spending must be reported

ATO, no reason we cannot attack from both ends.

It seems to me that rather than monkeying with the machinery and levers of the state, that rather a return to the Constitution would help narrow the focus (or constitutionalize the focus) of the federal goverment addressing all problems at once. One would, at least I would, think that a Libertarian candidate would stress this approach.

 

[ATOMonkey]

The problem with getting rid of the prebate is that the actual sales tax rate would have to be much higher. Illegal immigrants, foreigners, people here on work visas, anyone who is not a citizen will not get a prebate and will be paying the tax on everything, including the essentials. To exclude food an other items from the tax will erode the base.

hhhhmmmm... Still leaves a very large portion of government to handle the "pre-bate" payout.

I'd rather up the percentage a point or two (if there really is a shortfall) than pay paper pushers to redistribute the funds.

Also, as others have pointed out, a pre-bate check only adds incentive to pro-create. It does nothing to encourage responsible behavior.

 

[Liberty's Teeth]

How about saving yourself? Waiting for anyone to save you (Jesus aside) is foolish and will only leave you at best where you are right now. American principle means you save yourself.

 

[rambone]

Surely principled men like Coats or Ellsworth will help toss out the Progressive Income Tax and save the middle class.

 

[dross]

Taxes do little direct harm to most of the middle class. The upper middle class and the wealthy are the folks hit hardest by taxes.

Taxes harm productivity and economic growth, which are the indirect harm taxes perpetrate on the middle class.