Posted on 05/06/2009 11:57:23 AM PDT by Turret Gunner A20
... and this time it's none other than Dave Ramsey. The FairTax is a bold proposal. It is only natural that people are going to try to criticize it. Is it too much to ask for these people to do at least a modicum of research so that they at least appear to know what they're talking about?
This time the culprit is Dave Ramsey. I like the guy, and I like his approach. His sermons on living debt free are right on, and no doubt he's helped millions of people to improve their financial. OK .. mighty fine. But now he's taken it upon himself to opine that the FairTax simply isn't, in his words, "fair."
Let's take this quote from Ramsey's article: "People would only pay taxes on items they buy, except for food, basic clothing and other kinds of necessities." Most of the FairTax supporters know that this is just flat-out wrong. The explanation is incomplete.
If Ramsey really was informed on the FairTax he would know that you pay taxes only on items that you buy at the retail level, and that food, basic clothing and other kinds of necessities are included. Ramsey would also know about the prebate. He would know that every household in this country --- that is, every legal household --- would get a credit or check from the Treasury Department every single month equal to the FairTax they would be expected to pay on the basic necessities of life during the following month. This FairTax prebate is so essential to the FairTax plan that to ignore it, or to be unaware of it entirely, is worse than careless.
Ramsey also writes of the FairTax "This means it's more of a burden on poor people, because they would pay a higher percentage of their overall income."
Sorry, wrong. The poor, poor pitiful poor would pay virtually nothing - zero percent of their income - to the federal government. [ALERT! Brilliant thought follows!] To pay any taxes at all to the feds the poor would have to spend above the poverty level. If they're doing that ... they're not poor. Pretty easy, isn't it?
I wonder why Dave Ramsey doesn't get it? Is there a chance he just shot from the hip here without doing any real research? The FairTax deserves better than this flippant, uninformed treatment.
Dave Ramsey could be a good proponent of the FairTax. He's very bright, and he would recognize the beauty of this plan if he just would take the time to actually study it. Knowing what you're talking about .... Is that too much to ask?
Weird, this audio clip on YouTube seems to show Ramsey supporting the FairTax. Huh. Maybe he's lost changed his mind since that was recorded.
“Be open minded, Dave, for some fairtaxers realy want to fill it with crap...”
Fairtax is a joke, and financially educated people know it.
You know, I should probably do more research into it. Because the premise to me sounds perfectly logical. But again, I don’t know all the details. If you don’t mind explaining your comment, I would appreciate hearing why you say this. Is there a better alternative that really is a ‘Fair’ tax?
The "prebates" in the Fair Tax is a recipe for disaster and makes absolutely no sense
Flat tax is only marginally better than the mess we have now. Any tax on income or personal property amounts to slavery. Retail sales tax appeals to me primarily because it allows us more privacy and anonymity. It works for the most of the states that have it, so I never understand the negative visceral reaction the Fair Tax brings.
Actually, Dave is a big fan of the FairTax. Yes, he made some of these statements, but not as a opponent. He supports it and speaks very highly of Linder and Boortz. I’m kind of surprised at this rant from Boortz.
I used to listen daily to Neal, however after I bought and read one of his books I realized that there is a ton of inconsistency in his opinions. Then I discovered Dave, started working Dave’s plan and haven’t looked back.
Great under this plan we will have more people rushing towards their mail boxes for their government checks at the first of the month! And isn't it going to be great when the government decides how much food and basic necessities you deserve for the month?
Battle of the talk radio talkers! ;-)
Dave Ramsey Fan Ping List.
If you would like to be added to the “Live like no one else, so that you can LIVE like no one else” list, feel free to Freepmail me.
Haven’t old people already bought all the crap they need? I’m only approaching 40 and I can’t get rid of all the junk I’ve accumulated so far. :)
“tax rate is way too high”
That is not a fault of the fairtax proposal. That is a fault of the current level of spending. That “high” rate is already in existence today, it is just hidden from you. I prefer that every American gets hit in the face with that “high” rate with every purchase they make every day.
I’d wager that it would sure make a bunch more “shrink the government” types very quickly.
Once you’ve completely convinced yourself you can fly, throwing yourself off a cliff is “perfectly logical”.
ditto the fairtax.
In all the state taxes that I know of ... there is NO SUCH THING AS A PREBATE.
2. pre-earned/saved money is re-taxed when plan is implemented
3. tax rate is way too high
Actually, I don't like the rebate part of the plan. I think the poor should pay their fair share too, maybe just at a lower rate for necessities. Tax rate is too high, true, but is also too high now. At least people would see more directly what their government costs them. I think though that the benefit of no income tax on your tax deferred savings and your capital gains would balance things out for most people.
Right, I just said retail sales tax, not fair tax. I don’t like the prebate part of the plan. It makes the tax rate go too high, makes it more difficult and expensive to administer, hurts privacy, and keeps the poor from paying their fair share.
Most fair taxers do not understand #2 at all.
Xcamel, pull your head out of your rear end.
The fairtax is not fair.
Why in the hell do I want to pay 23% in taxes if I should ever buy another house?
Unless the loan is interest free, forget that crap.
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