Oh puh_leeez. You guys and your insults. Can you make a friggin argument without insults. The problem as I clearly explained is prices go up an average of 15% or so depending on the item. So your comparison is an apples to orange comparion. For instance, if my rent is $1000 under the income tax, the very day the fair tax goes into effect, my rent for the very same apartment is $1300. So how is it an apples to apples comparison to compare spending $1000 under the current system, when the very same apartment is going to be $1300 because of your tax? That is the effect of the fair tax bill and there is nothing the consumer can do about it. Unless you are going to make the obscene arguement that by some miraculous act of God your rent that you are contractly obligated to pay will go down 23%. I am not the one being 'daft' here. You are the one who is ignorant in what the argument is, and why your point makes zero sense.
Your just plain wrong. On what basis do you think prices will go up? It's a tax, not a price increase.
And you clearly do not understand the concept between gross and after-tax income. Again, if a $30K earner lives in a city that is determined, through the formula, that the Fair Tax paid on "basics" is $300 a month then he gets a reimbursment monthly. This now give that person $33,600 a year available to spend. If he was spending his entire after-tax income before (and why would he spend more - he may but it's not a guarantee)the Fair Tax would be LOWER than his income/FICA taxes.
So let's say he spends the entire $33,600...the Fair Tax would be $8,280 at 23% of everything (including your bugaboo about rent) leaving him with $27,720 with is, follow me closely, M-O-R-E than he would have under the current income/FICA tax system.
It's just simple math. And I, again, argue that without businesses paying a tax on profits and matching FICA they'd have lower operating costs in which to lower prices to increase market share and revenue volume.
We do it everyday in my business when we can cut costs.