"....they think it looks unworkable and will or might lead to economic crisis,...."
And are they as oblivious to the economic challenges that we face under the status quo as you seem to be? (BTW that is a dead tipoff that someone has a hidden agenda - they only want to consider one side of the risk equation) You might want to at least feign interest in some of our more serious economic challenges (such as the trade deficit, federal budget deficit, the looming insolvency of Medicare and SS) that we face in order to not come across as someone who indeed does have a hidden agenda.
" or they have paid income tax all their lives and don't wish to now start paying taxes as they spend the money."
That is a legitimate concern for those who haven't studied the proposal and don't understand how the rebate protects lower and mid level consumers, or how the removal of the current system partially offsets the imposition of the sales tax, or how the expanded growth of the economy, as well as the removal of the tax burden from businesses increases the value of any equity holdings they may have.
I have met very few people who still opposed the FairTax on those two grounds once they have had a chance to understand the proposal better. I have, however, met quite a few people in the "real world" who make their living from some of the billions that we waste on compliance costs or who have some other angle going that makes them indifferent to the huge economic advantages, which even economists who don't support the FairTax acknowledge.
I have also met some who say that they believe they will be paying more taxes under the FT, but they still support it because it will be far better for the country in the long run. My view is that the only people who would pay more under the FairTax are those who enjoy extremely affluent lifestyles with high levels of consumption. Those people have the option of decreasing their lifestyle if their primary goal is tax minimization. Most of them won't do that, since they have worked hard to accumulate wealth and they feel that have the right to enjoy it. They aren't that price sensitive and they will have the means to benefit more than anyone from a greatly expanded economy.
The FairTax's critics on FR may be different; they may indeed have no vested interest in the perpetuation of the current system. However, their cowardly tactics and their continual hiding behind anonymnity makes me very skeptical.
I just love the argument that the professional economists who have studied the FairTax and produced estimates of its economic impact are either incompetent, dishonest, or both. In addition, I hear that economists can't be trusted to predict the economy, anyway. Only the anonymous bloggers on FR who have no professional reputations at stake, no verifiable economic qualifications can forecast the economic impact of the FairTax.
Right.
"So, 'dysfunctional' is a mighty hard word to use...."
You have a right to your opinion, just as I have a right to mine. (however, please check out my tagline) From my perspective, when you had an independent magazine, such as Money doing an annual test of the tax system in which they typically had almost as many answers relative to the taxes due as they have returns submitted, and these are from professional preparers, "dysfunctional" doesn't seem too harsh at all. "Disgrace" is the term used to describe the IRC in the 1976 Presidential campaign and I don't consider that excessively harsh, either. The system is far worse today than it was in 1976 from the standpoint of its complexity and the enormous burden it places on our economy. When you can call the IRS for technical assistance and have a high probability of getting a wrong answer, and when you rely on that wrong answer in preparing your return, you can be held responsible (including punitive fines, penalties and interest) while the IRS assumes no responsibility whatsoever for providing an incorrect answer, "dysfunctional" seems pretty mild to me.
Budget deficit- As long as the percent of debt-to-GDP is shrinking as it is now, and we are investing in important things like defense, then we are moving in the right direction.
Regarding the Medicare/SS deficits, you are grossly mistaken, I am outspoken on this subject and I have written at least a dozen letters to politicians on this subject, and I think it is the #1 fiscal issue we face, and I have stated so repeatedly. So come off your high horse.
Regarding the trade deficit, there is more to that than meets the eye, and this is primarily an issue made up to look scary by protectionists and others who are against Free Trade. I think this is a relarively minor issue compared with the entitlements.
There will have to be an equally ugly tax collection arm under the FairTax, ya'll just won't acknowledge it.