About Me

In writing the "About Me" portion of this blog I thought about the purpose of the blog - namely, preventing the growth of Socialism & stopping the Death Of Democracy in the American Republic & returning her to the "liberty to abundance" stage of our history. One word descriptions of people's philosophies or purposes are quite often inadequate. I feel that I am "liberal" meaning that I am broad minded, independent, generous, hospitable, & magnanimous. Under these terms "liberal" is a perfectly good word that has been corrupted over the years to mean the person is a left-winger or as Mark Levin more accurately wrote in his book "Liberty & Tyranny" a "statist" - someone looking for government or state control of society. I am certainly not that & have dedicated the blog to fighting this. I believe that I find what I am when I consider whether or not I am a "conservative" & specifically when I ask what is it that I am trying to conserve? It is the libertarian principles that America was founded upon & originally followed. That is the Return To Excellence that this blog is named for & is all about.

Sunday, June 15, 2014

New Posting Notice - FairTax Q&A Update 2014

This message is to alert readers to a new post on the left hand side of RTE under The FairTax.  Click on FairTax Q&A Update 2014 for the third in a series of Q&A.  I have tabulated fifteen new questions since the last Q&A post & provide the answers.


The topics include how the FairTax Plan was developed, what it means to be a FairTax congressional co-sponsor, why the FairTax rate does not underestimate tax evasion, what the effect of the FairTax is on retail sales & government consumption, how a seemingly simple 10% income tax rate balloons to a 30.7% tax exclusive rate when compared on an equal basis to the FairTax, how the prices of used goods will be affected by the FairTax, how the current embedded taxes don't account for all the money collected by the FairTax, what the cost of compliance will be that is eliminated by the FairTax, how the FairTax treats someone with large medical bills like for cancer treatment, where the money comes from for indexing Social Security & federal pensions for increases in prices caused by the FairTax, & how the FairTax treats charitable organizations, non profits, & churches.


Following the Q&A there is an Appendix that includes testimonies to the House Ways & Means Committee by Leo Linbeck & Wayne Angell, a list of academic papers that were part of the original study, a list of economists who support the FairTax including Nobel Laureate Vernon L. Smith, & several calculations of the FairTax rate.


Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions.  Additions will be made as appropriate. 

8 comments:

  1. Doug - Additions are great. They will help us in debating tax reform alternatives. I especially like the section on government consumption. Yes - no special breaks for governments. Thanks much.

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  2. Today I had time to read your FairTax Letter. It was quite long and informative.

    I still say, you should "run" for office.

    You are very informative, and know your subject matter.

    How the FairTax does in Congress, I do not know. It is a good program.

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  3. How do we contact you with questions, other thanby posting them here as comments?

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    1. Reply to blog as you did but provide telephone # & e-mail address & I will call you to answer your questions. I will not publish your contact information.

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  4. Doug,

    FYI, when I now click on the link to your latest Q&A, I get abn error message that says that doc does not exist.

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    1. There was a technical problem yesterday with Google. It is now fixed except for subscribers who try to open the link from the message they received via e-mail on June 16. I have no way to retrieve all of those e-mails. The June 15 post on RTE has been updated.

      Thanks for letting me know.

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  5. Doug,

    Thank you, I will check it out. You said it was "updated" - what did you add? 44 pages is a lot to reveiew for changes.

    Also, I have rethought my comment about the future increase in the Prebate and can restate that in our phone conversation (awaiting your call). you can also feel free to publish my questions and your answers (I am not sure how your site works - can you do comments and replies?)

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    1. I added nothing to the original report which was 44 pages. The problem was only technical with Google who took down 37 pages with their new system. Can't call until you provide your tel #. The RTE blog is only a one way street in that you can comment, I can post your comments, & reply. I do not know who you are or any other subscriber. Please provide your contact info & I will do my best to answer your questions. Hope this works for you.

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