In American politics, what works is usually — evolution, not revolution.
People do not want something presented to them in one BIG BANG, but a series of small steps so that they can digest the small changes to see if they work.
THAT is the big mistake with Obamacare.
The same will be true for those who keep harping on the FAIR TAX. It won’t be accepted by most people today. Better to make the change evolutionary. That’s what Paul Ryan’s alternative flat tax is all about for instance. Start with that first, and when people are comfortable with the idea that we can do away with tens of thousands of pages of tax code, then we can talk about the Fair Tax but not until.
“That’s what Paul Ryan’s alternative flat tax is all about for instance. Start with that first, and when people are comfortable with the idea that we can do away with tens of thousands of pages of tax code, then we can talk about the Fair Tax but not until.”
Almost true. Ryan’s tax is not “flat” since it includes two brackets (10% and 25%) and retains exemptions and tax credits which make it highly “progressive” and retains social policy weapons. A truly “flat” tax without any deductions, exemptions, or credits would only require the 10% rate to garner the same revenue as the existing income tax code. I’d love to see the people who would try to complain that 10% of their income was more than they could afford to contribute to paying for the national defense, judiciary and other “discretionary” spending. Could anybody do that without everybody seeing them for the freeloaders they currently are ?
The FairTax is a bad idea. It attempts to force a higher effective tax rate on high achievers while leaving low achievers as tax freeloaders by rebating them all their tax payments. Just another punishing “progressive” tax grab on achievement. But it has a legal tax avoidance mechanism — simply make your money in the US but live and spend your money elsewhere — the wealthy high achievers will jump on, leaving a huge hole in the projected tax revenues. So no taxes on the rich and no taxes on the poor means the middle class would see its tax burden DOUBLE.
You shouldn’t reward low achievement by exempting the poor from taxation, and you shouldn’t make the tax rates on the high achievers into a punishment. This means low rates and completely flat without any exemptions or deductions that make them progressive. A 10% flat income tax on individuals only with no corporate taxes, together with a 10% NRST with no rebates would be my choice for actually pulling in the same revenue as the existing Income+FICA taxes while promoting GDP growth.