[Brookhaven]

I agree--our tax percent could change tomorrow--which is exactly why I do not want to add ANOTHER tax without really thinking through what we're all getting so darned excited about.

Consider that the 999 plan ELIMINATES a revenue stream also--the payroll tax, so it adds one and eliminates one.

And the payroll tax is a hidden tax, in that half of it is paid behind the scenes and never seen by the employee.

Didn't you find it strange that when the temporarily lowered the payroll tax to "stimulate" the economy, they only lowered the visible half--the employee half? The hidden half stayed stayed just as high.

Hidden tax streams like the employer half of the payroll tax are much more likely to be raised than visible, in-your-face tax streams like a sales tax.

I don't know if you live in a state that has a sales tax, I do. Every year someone tries to push for an increase in the sales tax for this or that good cause, and every year it gets quashed. The sales tax rate has been steady for the last 20+ years. I understand the concern, but as a practical matter a sales tax is the hardest type of tax to increase.

It's much more likely taxes will be increased with the current system (where so many taxes are hidden) than in a simple system where everything is out in the open.

[La Enchiladita]

I don't know if you live in a state that has a sales tax, I do. Every year someone tries to push for an increase in the sales tax for this or that good cause, and every year it gets quashed.

So do I. I live in California and we have a high state sales tax rate, but it is not applied to food and gas. I thought conservatism supported states' rights and fewer "fixes" at the federal level. We could not bear to pay both a state sales tax AND a federal sales tax. Would the feds then be telling the states to rescind their tax?

I don't see how this is good for America, for conservative principles, when it goes in the opposite direction of what we need which is LESS government "fixes."