And a great many of them are FAR more concerned about the country that will be left behind for their children and grandchildren than their own self interest! A GREAT many!
Everyone fundamentally works for their own self-interest, and there isn't anything wrong with that.
At bottom, when you tax consumption, you get less consumption. (This is another issue than the one of cheating.) Personally, I think less consumption has some good moral points to it - it's probably better if a man grows the wood, cuts it down, carves the table, and uses it in his own home, rather than buying one. But in reality slowdowns in consumption can *kill* an economy, especially at the present time.
We saw this with the "luxury tax" on yachts & expensive cars. As soon as the tax was lifted, sales shot up. When states have "no sales tax" days, spending surges.
So people decide to cut back on luxuries. Now you're left with the necessities - food, medicine, diapers, doctor visits, immunizations, hospitalizations. You really want to put a *consumption tax* on these things?