Fascinating. I don't want to sound like an elitist, but I have to ask this question.
I understand this stuff, but I have a degree in economics. Will the Republican Party be able to win the battle of ideas in campaign advertising?
And does this new plan not effect until the 16th is actually repealed (38 states, etc)? Because if this plan is instituted, but the 16th is not repealed, the income tax WILL return, on top of the NRST.
Well, that's the 64 mil question. The sponsors of HR25 are determined to repeal it and pass the bill at the same time. It's tricky, but that's the plan.
"I understand this stuff, but I have a degree in economics. Will the Republican Party be able to win the battle of ideas in campaign advertising?"
Excellent question. My reaction is that if Bush wants to make this a major campaign issue, he better be prepared to pour massive amounts of money into educating the voters. As evidenced by this thread, the uninitiated don't understand it and don't support it. The good news is that the more people understand it, the better they like it. Ijust hope that, if Drudge is correct, the campaign has earmarked big bucks for the education that will be required.
"And does this new plan not effect until the 16th is actually repealed (38 states, etc)? Because if this plan is instituted, but the 16th is not repealed, the income tax WILL return, on top of the NRST."
The FairTax bill repeals the IRC, defunds the IRS (incrementally over 5 years, I believe) and orders IRS records destroyed. The IRS would continue to operate for some time to collect arrearages. A constitutional amendment cannot be ratified or repealed within the body of a piec of legislation - the two processes are entirely distinct and separate. We would immediatley begin work on reprealing the 16th once the FairTax was in place. That will take several years. Trying to do so before that time would be an exercise in political futility. Few legislators would vote to eliminate the current system until a consensus is reached as to what would replace it. Once Americans have been freed from the tyranny of the IRS, the political pressure to keep it from rearing its ugly head again will mount rapidly.