You have to look at the risk/reward trade-off, and a depression or having both IT and FT are risks that are not adequately rewarded, IMO. I don't go walking on any freeways looking for quarters -- I hope you don't either.
Your 'Depression' boogie-man is a straw-man.
Business would be better than ever after the demise of the income tax code.
Foreign-made goods would finally be taxed in our market.
American-made goods would have the tax and compliance component removed from their costs, and would become much more competitive in the world market immediately.
Freedom may be risky, as I said before, but freedom is the incubator for prosperity.
Also...
Savings/capital formation are the seeds of productivity and economic growth.
The current system burdens and penalizes capital.
The NRST places no burden on capital at all...only on consumption.
Under the FairTax, America would be the most attractive magnet for capital in the world.