"...It's not just the absolute dollars I have or the taxes that I pay, it's how it compares to what others have and what taxes they pay. That helps establish what my dollars are really worth...."
That's absolutley correct and speaks directly to my previous post, wherein I said: "The ball to keep your eye on here is total purchasing power."
You seem unconcerned by the fact that your investments are suffering reduced ROI as a result of the current system of taxation. That impacts your ability to consume in an invisible way that is impossible to accurately quantify. Moreover, 15.3% of your wage is being confiscated as FICA / Medicare taxation, and the government has no obligation whatsoever to return any portion of that to you. If you are concerned about your standard of living while in retirement, those two facts should cause you great concern. The FairTax eliminates both of those impediments to your ability to provide for your retirement.
Because the FairTax is calculated to be revenue neutral, it will by definition take NO MORE MONEY from the economy than the current system. The difference between the two systems is that in our current system, the taxes that you pay are invisible and unquantifiable in gross total. Under the FairTax you will not suffer a degredation in your total purchasing power, but you will be able to calculate your total tax burden because the tax will be fully visible.
Biker,
I assume that you are doing okay for yourself due not only to good planning but also to hard work. The hard work portion of that equation likely means that the feds take a hefty bite from your income and impedes your ability to build a nest egg as fast as you'd like.
I may be off base, and Goddess is much better qualified to judge the generalities that I am about to present than I am. Please bear with me as she sees if my thinking has merit. If it does, she would be better able to answer specific questions (she is brilliant and qualified, I'm not). I think that you will come to the same conclusion that we have come to -- The FairTax has to pass.
Thanks for the time and consideration.
CG, please correct me if I am wrong on my thinking here. . .
The way that I look at BNYC's situation is that the proper way to look at the impact to his buying ability is to compare what happens to him if we continue the present system with all of it's built in impediments to building wealth to what his position will be if the current impediments are removed and he is unfettered in his attempts to build (hopefully) a real fortune.
I assume that there will be some inequity that he will suffer, but even if I knew his specifics, I doubt that I could quantify what the impact would be.
However, since the FairTax totally removes Federal withholding for the Income Tax and FICA he will have more cash to work with than if the present mess continues.
Also, the Gift Tax, Capital Gains Tax, Inheritance and Estate taxes all go away, he will be able to retain a greater portion of them to pass on to his children AND regain control over his wealth that will no longer be subject to bureaucratic rules and confiscatory rates.
I can't help but think that the FairTax would leave him better off overall. One thing is certain. Passage of the FairTax restores his liberty and that of his children to control their own destiny and build wealth tax free.
To me, that's worth paying for if necessary.
That would be a legacy to leave behind.