Adding government meddling isn't ceteris paribus. It goes beyond the policy and is very arbitrary; you can make any policy sound bad. The second point is the whole point of the debate; will the fair tax cause excessive price fluctuation. You can say yes, which is fine, but the evidence that I have seen from other economists say no. But either way, what prices are currently doing doesn't matter because it doesn't change how the policy operates nor does it affect the outcomes. (If it indeed causes significant price fluctuations, it will do that regardless of current price fluctuations.)
Any new tax regime almost by definition increase uncertainty. Additionally, there isn't a clear and complete consensus because it's unclear how the final bill will look. The point of the fair tax is to get an general idea on how to change the current tax system, perfection is done in Congress. But the general idea is there: a check is written to each American based on the number of people in the household and poverty levels as determined by government statisticians. I don't really care for this, but if it is necessary in order to reform the current income tax structure, I'd live with it.
I'll agree with most everything else, except noting that loose monetary policy is still very significant since it artificially lowers interest rates and makes people think they can afford more debt. Also even though the economy is never ceteris paribus, it would be impossible to analyze any economic issue without it. (Friedman wrote a good article on this, I think "Essays in Positive Economics" (1953), but not positive.)
Oh, and just to make sure that were not getting to heated, because we'll probably agree on most other things, have a blessed day.
What rubbish. What absolute errant rubbish.
Who the hell do you think you are? I've stated, quite clearly, already and several times, that I consider the 'fair' tax to be considerably worse a thing, and why, than even the income tax, for which I have exactly no love. Are you really that dense that this is beyond your comprehension? No one's asking you to agree: it's almost always pointless to ask that of a fanatic.
You don't get to demand terms on this board, m'friend; I really don't believe that you have that imprimateur.
I'd rather have neither the 'fair' tax nor the income tax, thank you very much, and a different scheme entirely is my preference, but you'll notice (if you're capable of noticing) that I don't tout it here.