[Man50D]

If foreign producers have a 17% competitive advantage, it seems to me that that the consumer benefits.

Americans do not benefit when American products cost more than foreign products. American companies lose business to foreign companies. The tresult is American businesses must either layoff employees to cut costs, go out of business or relocate to a foreign country. Any way you look at Americans income and consequent purchasing power will be reduced. That is exactly what has been happening for many years.

Abolishing corporate taxes will encourage those companies to return to the U.S. thereby creating more jobs for Americans, creating more income and spending. Consumers will benefit and the U.S. economy will grow.

You want to level the playing field by raising one side not lowering the other.

I couldn't care less how the foreign countries are adversely effected. I'm more concerned with our country. apparently you are as concerned about the former as you are the latter.

And here you told me the Fair Tax is simple -- simpler than a flat tax. You expect me to believe interest rates will decline because all the domestic banks will all decide to pass on all the savings they all get.

You can choose to ignore the basic principle of competition but that doesn't change the fact it has been, is and always will be integral part of our free market system. The airline industry is a prefect of example of one business cutting its price forcing competitotrs to do the same or lose business.

Even hear the business phrase, "Leaving money on the table"? Do you know what that means?

Putting more money in people's wallets will enable companies to have more money on the table.

[robertpaulsen]

"Americans do not benefit when American products cost more than foreign products."

Our products cost more for reasons other than simply taxes. OSHA requirements, unions, the FDA, EPA, and our litigation-happy culture all add to the cost of domestically produced products and the Fair Tax doesn't affect them one iota.

"The tresult is American businesses must either layoff employees to cut costs, go out of business or relocate to a foreign country."

Or produce products that justify the cost of American labor and all the rest.