[dschapin]

What about Huckabees position on the FAIR tax. Eliminating the IRS would be the most drastic cut in the power of the federal government that any candidate (other than Ron Paul who is ineligible for obvious reasons and Duncan Hunter who has also backed the FAIR tax but doesn’t seem as excited about it) has advocated. Surely, his strong support for the FAIR tax is supporting a smaller, less intrusive government.

[mysterio]

I don't think there's any way the fairtax can work without creating a massive blackmarket of untaxed goods. We would need an IRS even more massive to conduct a battle to rival the failed war on some drugs. Plus, the Fairtax talking points are so obviously exaggerated that I am forced to question the whole plan. Number one, they cook the percentage to make it seem smaller than what it really is, and then they pretend like the prices of goods are going to stay pretty much the same since the savings will be passed on to the consumer or some such bunk. No, the prices will go up the exact amount of the tax. I'm not even convinced I'll start recieving my "whole" salary. I think I would get a bit more than I do now, certainly, but I think it won't be the full untaxed amount, and I don't think anyone else will get the full untaxed amount, either.

So while I admit the fairtax looks really good, I don't think it would translate in reality. And Huckabee is a nanny stater, which disqualifies him from my vote completely, so it doesn't really matter.