If it smells like a GST and looks like a VAT, it must be the UnfFairTax
I marvel at how many people get sucked in by imprecise modelling of such a complex system that depends largely on human behavior. But I guess that's part of human nature.
The process that predicts all the wonderful outcomes of a FairTax (computer modelling of a complex, partially understood and radically simplified system) is what has also projected the world to run out of food 30 years ago, predicted the coming ice age ... no disasterous warming ... no ..., well, you get the picture. While a valuable tool modelling economic behavior is rarely accurate. Jorgenson's modelling of the "base case" ... our nominal economy ... missed the mark by a rather large amount (it underestimated GDP growth by about 50%!)
I guess I'd be less skeptical if people really did act with perfect foresight (they don't), if capital was perfectly mobile (it isn't), if transitions were immediate and impactless (they aren't), and politicians acted with the best interest of the governed (do I even need to say it?)