How much? 150-200% of what they pay now.

The poor ARE poor because the rich are ripping them off. That is what capitalism is. Capitalism is an inequal system; the wealthy accumulate wealth at the expense of others. For one to gain, another must lose. I feel like you believe that all Americans could be wealthy if they just worked hard enough — which isn’t the case. In capitalism, someone has to be at the bottom.

And I’m okay with that. I’m no socialist. Inequality equals diversity — diversity in thought, ability, creativity, etc.

Believe it or not, I don’t consider poverty to be something that can be eliminated. People talk about “ending poverty” — that’s just not possible in a capitalist system. There will always be poverty. What we can do is reduce the numbers as much as we can, and reduce the severity of their poverty, through various efforts — everything from charitable programs to publicly-funded assistance programs (you might call those welfare programs).

I do however believe that the wealth disparity in the US, the gap between the poor and the rich, is growing; and as the wealth of the people on the lower end of the spectrum decreases, so too do their opportunities. So let’s fix that by using more tax revenue, provided by the very wealthy, to provide the poor with those opportunities, like education and transportation. I don’t want to make everyone equal, but I do want to level the playing field a little bit.

You may call that class warfare. Maybe it is. But I’m not looking for a free ride. I enjoy working for what I have — but I’d like it to be a little easier to save up money to buy a home, or to afford college.

Hopefully I kept on topic… Trying to avoid devolving into a debate about capitalism vs. socialism etc.

How much taxes should ‘the rich’ be paying?

I understand that Democrats, at least the ones running for office, by and large feel that way, and that is unfortunate. It represents the beginning of the end of individualism, capitalism, freedom, and liberty. And the Fair Tax would be an enormous obstacle to the advancement of socialism in this country, and also an enormous stimulus for the advancement of honest government and prosperity for people at ALL socioeconomic levels. This explains why there happens to be zero Democrats sponsoring The Fair Tax bill. It seems to be antithetical to their core beliefs. Among them is the belief that the poor are poor because the rich are ripping them off in some way. I don’t happen to believe that.

The ‘poor’ in this country would be considered pretty well off in most other parts of the world, and it is only because of freedom and capitalism that this is so. But that’s another subject.

I’m a Democrat. I believe the rich are vastly undertaxed.

You and other FairTax folks disagree. Luckily for me, It’s going to be a good while before you guys can get it passed — if ever.

To look at taxes paid as a percentage of income comes from the socialistic need to achieve ‘equality,’ even though there is nothing equal about the dollar amount of taxes paid. That, and to incite class envy, another favorite theme of socialist dogma.

Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. I’m not calling you a socialist, I’m describing the phenomena of using percentages instead of real dollars to distort or otherwise mis-characterize how the fair tax raises revenue. The fact that everyone (not just people that have jobs) pays the same percentage is the fairness factor. The fact that working poor people will get to keep all they earn, and use it how they see fit, is a huge benefit that somehow gets overlooked.

Rich people will pay way more in taxes than poor people. Why? Because they will consume more. That concept is what makes the fair tax fair. Percentages don’t pay the bills, the dollars pay the bills.

The end effect of the “FairTax” is that the tax burden on the wealthy decreases and shifts to the middle class. As income increases, the percentage of income spent on consumption (and thus contributed in taxes) DECREASES.

Overall, under the “FairTax”, the tax base widens, and the tax burden is more evenly distributed — meaning the wealthy pay less and the difference is made up by the middle class. The prebate, everything else, it’s all smoke and mirrors designed to obscure that.

The Fair Tax is unlike any other consumption tax that has come down the pike. And what makes it different, is the ‘pre-bate.’ The prebate makes it progressive and not regressive.

In fact, if you want to talk about ‘poor people’, poor people have the most to gain under the fair tax. First because of the pre-bate, they’ll pay no taxes on the necessities they have to buy each month. The pre-bate will amount to about $375 per month, and that will be distributed on a monthly basis. It’s not a reimbursement plan like current ‘tax returns’ are. Then, they’ll benefit by getting all of their pay, no withholding and payroll deductions.

If you want to talk about ‘change,’ The Fair Tax represents the biggest and boldest of change since the Declaration of Independence. It empowers the people instead of Washington with their own money. If you don’t want to pay taxes, you don’t have to. Don’t buy anything. But if you want to by a 100 foot yacht, like Fred or Mike, you’ll be paying ‘your fair share’ of taxes.

The Fair Tax is not only fair, it is progressive.

Check out this video that explains how the fair tax is not regressive.
http://easylink.playstream.com/fairtax/43-trulyProgressive.wvx

Consumption taxes are regressive.

Regressive taxes hurt poor people.