[Always Right]

It will be faster/easier to save for a home and easier to qualify with lower rates.

Lower interest rates is a laughable arguement. Interest rates and money supply is controlled by the fed. If all your rosey economic predictions came true, the fed would be forced to tighten the money supply and raise rates. Again, the pointie headed professors are clueless. Well educated, but clueless.

[You Dirty Rats]

There was a thread on NYC cigarette taxes over the weekend on how people are buying their cancer sticks outside the Big Apple and evading the very high tax. Everyone posting thought that was just ducky, but it never occurs to people that the "FairTax" has ZERO chance of working in this country for the same reason. Americans have been the best smugglers and bootleggers in the world going back to colonial times -- just ask the Kennedys! People will start buying goods here just like they do fireworks in Ohio -- swear you are a wholesaler and then consume the goods. Or perhaps they will buy through tthe Internet -- since the anti-internet tax lobby here won't hear of applying the FairTax to that channel!

Anyone who believes the Federal and State governments can actually collect 30% sales taxes on every transaction is either delusional or an ivory-tower professor from a second-rate school.

[groanup]

Lower interest rates is a laughable arguement. Interest rates and money supply is controlled by the fed

Only short term interest rates. You'll notice that in 2004 the Fed raised short term interest rates 3 times and long term interest rates (mortgage rates) ended the year the way they began, at historic lows. Long term interest rates are more susceptible to inflation factors. The NRST is inflationary in that it tacks on 20-30% to prices over and above the pre-bate but it adds purchasing power in the form of higher take home wages. It would be interesting to see from a macroeconomic standpoint the effect of having food, water, warmth decling in price while life's little luxuries are increasing. I don't think there's ever been such a scenario.