The sales tax will discourage me from consuming as much as I had planned on. I presume a critical mass of others will feel the same way, creating a recession if not depression -- either that, or a massive black market will spring up, with participants attempting to hide their sales receipts (with great success).
Why not some version of a flat tax (with a big exemption to make it progressive), which is a different form of the consumption tax but without the radical systematic upheaval in the tax collection process? Or the USA tax, which as I recall is slightly more progressive (by Domenici, I think)?
Tracking income is imperfect, but is far simpler than tracking sales slips -- especially in states that don't have a sales tax system in place for the feds to glom onto.
That's the idea.
Congratulations on being self-sufficient.
Where is your farm, oil field and refinery?
"Tracking income is imperfect"
You think??? And if the income tax doesn't "discourage you" from spending there's certainly no reason that the FairTax would as most people's effective tax rate will be lower under the FairTax than the income tax.
You've fallen for too much spam from the Squirrel lobby.