Thank you for the further comments, Badray...they are appreciated.
I've had a marvelous education on this thread and I'm starting to love the concept more and more, whereas I think I was leaning more towards the concept of a flat tax, ala the Steve Forbes concept.
Since I tend to buy used items, grow a lot of my own food, and even do a bit of sewing and other needlework, I can see this as being a big boost in our disposable income, thus permitting us to spend more, thus contributing to the economy probably even more than we currently do.
And the elimination of the IRS is the icing on the cake!!!!
When I first saw this proposal, I was against it. Then I read ancient_geezers posts, and Chief Negotiator, and Taxman's. I looked and learned.
I learned that it may not be perfect, but it is damn good.
I learned that if we are going to control the leviathon that we have to make the cost of it visible and nothing does that better than the FairTax. I learned that the rate, though a lot higher than I would like to see, accurately shows the cost of government.
I believe that that when we don't allow Congress to wield power by controlling the tax code, that it won't be as much fun for them and they'll go home sooner. Half of all lobbying dollars in DC are spent to influence the tax code and there are lots of dollars being spent.
And getting rid of the IRS is the sweetest icing I've ever tasted.