Under a NRST you keep all of your income. How does one buy a house that has a 23% sales tax?
YOUR PURCHASING POWER STAYS THE SAME EVEN UNDER THE MOST CONSERVATIVE ANALYSIS. Under every situation that you can imagine, there is probably an increase in purchasing power under a NRST. This isn't rocket science. You are still in the same boat after a NRST as before. Your objections are not valid.
I make: 100,000 dollars.
I pay: 25,000 dollars in taxes.
I have left: 75,000 dollars.
UNDER A NRST:
I make 100,000 dollars.
I know I will have to pay a sales tax on all items above the basics.
So my 100,000 dollars only has the purchasing power of 75,000 dollars.
How does that diminish my ability to buy a house - or anything - for that matter?
On my 1040 last year, my adjusted gross income was $127,594, my total tax was 21,075 (16.5% effective tax rate); your presumed tax on 100K (25%) was off by a deceptively huge amount (gee, who would have guessed). Even the deceptively quoted 23% FairTax sales tax rate is considerably above the typical effective income tax rate for a middle class single guy.