[Rockitz]

I gladly welcome your comments.

[Protagoras]

One of the few things worse for this country than illegal entry would be a VAT tax. Hello European stagnation.

A national sales tax after repeal of the constitutional amendment allowing direct taxation is a different topic.

[Plutarch]

First, let me say that I believe that those who do venture to this country are among the brightest...

I get to talk with immigrant workers using an interpreter regularly. I am here to tell you that the adjective "bright" isn't the first thing that usually comes to mind.

[Capt.YankeeMike]

go back to your lab. Its obvious you havent stuck your nose outside in 40 years, why start now?
The Wily ol Captain. (who lives in the real world)

[rolling_stone]

Well I support a National Retail Sales Tax for some of your reasons, and mostly to eliminate our current waste of billions of dollars and man hours in the preparation of taxes..it would also allow US companies to compete better at home and abroad.

The proposed NRST would allow a family consumption allowance (rebate)for all legal residents. It would not be giving money to lawbreakers...

http://www.salestax.org/

[WhiteGuy]

Excellent point.

[mtbopfuyn]

First, let me say that I believe that those who do venture to this country are among the brightest and hardest working individuals that the world has to offer.

That's the last I read. Bu-bye.

[rolling_stone]

My solution to the illegal alien problem is to first have our government decide they want to do something about it. Until they do nothing is going to change..

We need a million man march on Washington to let them know we are tired and fed up and aren't going to take it anymore.

The President of the US needs to publicly announce that aliens are not welcome here and those here will be rounded up and sent home. No amnesty. If we don't have control over our borders, and its inhabitants, we are not a sovereign nation.

the People brought an end to segregation, the Vietnam War and prohibition, and they can end the illegal alien problem...

We need a constitutional amendment to change the situation wher anyone born in the US is a US citizen to where only those born in the US of legal residents are citizens, and those born to illegal parents are not.

We need a constitutional amendment prohibiting taxpayers benefits/money being paid to illegal aliens. No school, no welfare, nothing paid by taxpayers.

We need an amendment to make English our language and have all public documents and ballots etc printed in English only.

We need someone with guts to do the right thing...

[sixmil]

I am an engineer so I love a good problem and illegal immigration certainly fits that bill.

You must be a social engineer, because I don't see anything that even comes close to making sense in your proposal.

[helper]

As an employer I can tell you that a lot of illegals use phoney SS#'s and Fed taxes, SS taxes, and state tax are paid
I think this is the dirty little secret that prevents the Feds from taking any action. I did a little calculation assuming 30% of the IA's used phoney SS, and made 15K P/Y.
I came up with about 5B in money that would never have to be refunded, or paid out in SS.

Let me tell you haw it works. If a worker starts to work for someone say in January tax deposits are made all year, but NO SS# is reported until the final filing in February of the following year. It takes about 6 months after that filing for the IRS to send you a letter saying the SS# doesn't match. You ask the employee about it, they say "sorry I made a mistake here is the correct number". It will take at least another 3 months for the IRS to tell you that's not correct. In the meantime the employee has found a new job.

This can go on for ever. State unemployment forms are filed on a quartly basis and they ask for SS# and names, but they could care less if they are IA's they just want the money on time.

I do support the VAT or some form of Flat tax because the IRS regs are simply out of control, conflicting, and too costly to comply with.

However I think the Pols are real happy with all this money they are getting under the current system.

[CJ Wolf]

Rockitz

I didn't like your proposal much. Primarly because of the tax thing. I can see how you think that it would help, but I don't think it will help in the long run. Illegals get away with out paying tax primarily because they demand cash as payment. There own blackmarkets would not be subject to your VAT Tax. I would like to see our BS Tax code revised anyway, but not for the reasons stated.

Many have noted that you started with an obvious pandering fallacy. Instead, I propose that you change your goal, make it: To ensure that future Legal immigrents 'are among the brightest and hardest working individuals that the world has to offer.'

It is logically motivated that to achieve this goal, we have to make America an attractive place for these people.

I also have started to think about this problem in earnest as well, and I put forth my proposal. Which combines too problems designed to make America a better more free place

1. Start with legalizing drugs. Put warning labels on them and Tax them.

2. Funded by the drug tax move the out of work vast resorces of the DEA and local drug task forces, gang task forces and seatbelt violater hunters into the fight against illegal aliens. A lift and shift of focus from citizens to illegal citizens.

3. Catch them and Deport them.

4. Do away with Minimum wage, let the market decide the payrate.

5. Fill the vacant jobs left by the illegals with Americans.

Some say that the Americans won't want the jobs, or will want to be paid more, But I am not so sure. If they want to be paid more then perhaps it would be worth it, because you could get much better work ethic for the quality of effort.

In addition we all know that Market supply and demand will always dictate fare and certain prices for these products, be it landscaping, working at wendys or house cleaning. I am convienced that you will still pay around the same price for things. Here is the reason: The Illegal master will no longer make the disgusting profits off the pitance paid to the illegals. For example, say it costs $100 to clean your house and you hire a company that pays it's cleaner $24 for a 4 hour job (That's $6 dollars an hour). That's a profit of $76 that goes to the lawbreaker Guy who didn't really do anything except pay the illegal. He justifies this by saying that he is taking a chance by hiring the poor illegal cleaner and often will treat them any which way he wants because legally they have no recourse and he knows this. If instead you were to give a hired American the same $100 to clean your house, that American would get $25 per hour and would likely be happy doing a good job. With this plan, Illegals will see that America is no longer a push over and will eventually get tired of being hunted and deported by the heavy handed and well trained (highly paid by the drug tax) Jack Booted thugs. This will ensure that those that wish to enter our great country future will try to enter legally to gain the benefits America is known for. Once our country is free of illegals, people will see that America is not a teet to be sucked on anymore and then only the best and brightests will flock to our shores legally once again. Comments are welcome. CJ

[fightu4it]

"First, let me say that I believe that those who do venture to this country are among the brightest and hardest working individuals that the world has to offer."

Yes, we saw a fine example of that on 9-11-01.

Which is precisely why we have to stop the illegals from crossing into this country. If the INS didn't have their heads up their asses it wouldn't have happened. They were in hear "legally" which only shows that the battle must be fought at more than just the borders. We need to clean up the borders and the immigration statutes.

[hardhead]

I have always thought that a VAT is FAR preferable to the IRS! A VAT could go directly into the U.S. Treasury to fund defense and give those poor overworked souls in congress a raise ;o)> Think about it - with no exceptions a VAT would make all scumbags and criminals pay for their own demise. You don't collect tax from an illegal being paid under the table. Crack dealers sure as hell don't pay tax on the blood money they reap. Even a drug dealer has to buy a car, clothing, food, housing, bullets, toilet paper....... The @#$%^&* IRS is a blood-sucking out-of-control agency. Eliminate it!

[micha]

First, let me say that I believe that those who do venture to this country are
among the brightest and hardest working individuals that the world has to offer."

I don't know where yu live, but in California we get uneducated unskilled Mexicans who refuse to assimilate. :)

[FITZ]

those who do venture to this country are among the brightest and hardest working individuals that the world has to offer

Not after we became the "Great Society" with all the Socialist programs. Many immigrants are coming only for those. The elderly immigrant who will never work a day in the USA but whose relatives bring him/her over just to get SSI and Medicaid is one example of the a big problem with our immigration and sponsorship laws.

[FITZ]

decide to make such a radical change in their life

If you look at some of the immigrant neighborhoods in LA or anywhere in the SW and compare them with Mexico neighbhorhoods, you won't see any radical change at all. Parts of the USA are looking even worse than Mexican slums.

[dennisw]

Although all would pay it, those legal residents who are responsible in paying and filing their tax returns could recoup such taxes through reduced income tax rates. For those at the lower end of the economic scale, such taxes could be offset by credits.................

What would happen is illegal aliens would bundle up their store reciepts and sell them to legal immigrants who will be happy to scam the IRS. So many recent immigrants, leagl and illegal are in on scams and frauds. Messing with your VAT/national sales tax would be child's play for them.

Putting our military on the Mexican border would be more effective.

[MatthewViti]

let me say that I believe that those who do venture to this country are among the brightest and hardest working individuals that the world has to offer.

those wetbacks sure do work hard at screwing the taxpayer and govt' for every nickle and dime they can get their hands on.

[mamelukesabre]

I got three comments.

First, your reasoning is sound. A consumption based tax would be better to force illegals to pay their fare share. But, there is no way in * that any sane conservative would let the government create a whole new way to legally steal money from us without permanently and totally eliminating the old method of legally stealing money from us first. You would have to be stupid to give the government permission to steel from us in two different ways. They already take way too much.

Second, the best way to keep illegals from raping our country is to KEEP THEM OUT OF HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE.

Third, you are sadly mistaken about illegal mexicans being such high caliber people. Certainly, there is a spectrum. Certainly there are good and bad, just as there are good and bad in any group of people. But for the most part, ILLEGAL mexicans/hondurans/central american latinos are basically poor, illiterate, unskilled, and prone to criminal behavior. I'll tell you why they are so stubborn about learning english. It's because they CAN'T READ! Not only can they not read english, but they can't even read spanish. Being illiterate in your native toungue is a huge handicap if you are trying to learn a second language. In fact, it pretty much makes it impossible. If you go into their homes, you will see they are not americans, they do not wish to be americans, and they have desire whatsoever to learn anything about america or what it means to be american. They couldn't care less about the freedoms this country fights for, dies for, and holds dear. They are mexicans and they will remain mexicans untill the day they die. They are only here because they see they can get newer stuff easy, if not free, if they come here. That's it. That's their only motive. If you give a mexican employee a sizable bonus check, He'll run off to mexico and live like a king for a month or two showing off to all his old buddies and relatives and making more illegitimate babies. Then he'll come sneaking back accross the border when the money runs out. THat fact right there should tell you all you need to know about their motives.

[rightofrush]

The appeal of the VAT goes a beyond what you mentioned. I rather like the idea of a tax that drug dealers, pimps, and others outside the law would have to pay a tax on what they buy, rather than not paying any tax at all.