Despite naysyers like Bruce Bartlett and Jerry Bowyer and others who throw uninformed criticism at the FairTax, the FairTax movement is growing. One day, the FairTax will be a reality and the United States will undergo a major economic boom as a result, regardless of how loudly people like Barlett and Bowyers yell or how many times they stamp their feet in protest.
The FairTax, unlike any other proposed tax reform plan, would address three end-goals:
1) The plan must remove from the IRS any power to intrude on the private lives of American citizens.
2) The plan must remove from the K Street lobbyists any power to influence Congressional votes.
3) The plan must not allow hidden taxes to be passed along to the consumer at any time.
Curiously, whenever anyone criticizes the FairTax and then is asked how these three end-goals are to be achieved through any other tax reform plan, they quickly become quiet, almost as if they are embarrassed for not having an answer.
In his January 17, 2008 column, Herman Cain looks at the FairTax movement with regards to the 2008 Presidential Primary:
| Immediately after the Iowa Straw Poll last August, the noted and respected journalist George Will referred to the FairTax believers who supported Mike Huckabee as “those FairTax people.” He made it sound as if the people who helped Huckabee finish an unexpected second place among Republican presidential contenders were politically challenged, unfit to associate with the political elites. Jay Bookman, a columnist with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, referred to the FairTax believers in his editorial on Dec. 23, 2007, as a “cult.” He called it “Huckabee’s Fantasy FairTax” as Huckabee was surging in the unreliable presidential polls leading up to the Iowa caucuses held on January 3. |
And yet, neither Will nor Bookman has come up with an alternative proposal that addresses the three end-goals stated above.
Cain continues:
| Because of George Will’s history of writing thoughtful and credible opinion articles, I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that his comment was just a slip of the tongue. This may have been motivated by his acquired skepticism of any dramatic changes being possible in the halls of Congress. Personally, I hope this was indeed the case, because I would miss George’s political insight if he were forced to take a Don Imus-like sabbatical. On the other hand, Bookman clearly displayed his ability for misinformation and factual inaccuracies, too many to spend valuable time and space refuting. Anyone familiar with the facts of the FairTax can peruse his attempted assassination of the FairTax for himself. One would also note that pure media bias could hardly be an excuse. If Huckabee’s success continues, the greater the attempts will be to derail him by the liberal opposition, the Republican establishment and, naturally, his Republican presidential rivals. The FairTax is the biggest cure for our tax code insanity on the political table. Mike Huckabee’s courageous embrace of the idea has heightened interest in it by many, and attracted contempt against it by many more. Since death to the FairTax has not been achieved swiftly by skepticism, denial or distortion, then we can expect repeated attempts to kill the FairTax by a thousand cuts. Fortunately, there are millions of believers in the FairTax, and they have been around much longer than the current presidential race. It is a legitimate movement in this country that is based on solid economics and analysis. The real cult consists of people who are skeptical of dramatic changes, and those who are content with allowing this country to drift into economic mediocrity. |
No matter what you think about Mike Huckabee or his personal choices in life, he has brought the FairTax to national prominence. It may not be such a big player in this election, but in 2012, after millions more people have had the chance to read the real FairTax Plan rather than someone's misinformed criticism, the FairTax will loom large in the campaign.
You can access the complete column on-line here:
The Attempted Assassination Of The FairTax
Herman Cain
NorthStar Writers' Group via FairTax.org
January 17, 2008
Also, Professor Laurence J. Kotlikoff, Professor of Economics at Boston University, has this rebuttal to Bruce Bartlett's criticism of the FairTax:
Why the Fair Tax Will Work
Laurence J. Kotlikoff
FairTax.org
January 15, 2008
And here is a rebuttal to Jerry Bowyer's column criticizing the FairTax. It should be noted that had Mr. Bowyer actually read the FairTax Plan before commenting on it, he would have found the answers to the very questions he posed with such sarcasm.
The FairTax Crowd Answers Jerry Bowyer
Louis R. Woodhill
FairTax.org
January 14, 2008
Americans For Fair Taxation
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