Fairtax or no, if you are paying 50% in taxes, you really do need to be investigating sheltering. The system is warped no doubt, but that's no reason to pay one penny more than you are legally required... and if you are spending .50 on the dollar, you are paying way more than you need to be.
You do realize that I am accumulating all levels of taxation? What types of sheltering are you talking about? In reality, I am using the remaining portion (after tax) to either pay down debt or to invest for retirement. Not much of it is disposable income.....As a result sheltering it might be a bit difficult.