A proper gander at the FairTax
A recent debate topic on Facebook's Politics poll was whether you supported Mike Huckabee's FairTax plan. The FairTax is a splendid example for examining language and economics. Let's not mince words: The FairTax is not fair. It is an ugly euphemism designed to receive support. Eliminate the IRS and replace it with a simpler tax code that is fair? Sure! exclaim many. No! I say. Let the IRS die and the rest of the tax code with it. Here are three responses to common arguments regarding the FairTax.
- The FairTax is not "fair"; there's nothing fair about taxation — what would be called theft if any private individual were standing between you and your purchase extracting a benevolent 23 percent. As Murray Rothbard noted about the FairTax, it's essentially a "pay to live" tax: You must relinquish 23% of your purchase, whether it be a plasma television or a Thanksgiving turkey. The FairTax says this: The government must be involved in every purchase you make; there is no privacy between consumer and provider.
- The FairTax is not "simplification." The IRS may be gone, but another bureacracy is put in its place. The idea behind eliminating the IRS, as Ron Paul argues, is not because it's complex or confusing, but because it is illegitimate. The federal government should be reduced, not tinkered with. The elimination of the IRS, with nothing to replace it, forces the federal government to behave constitutionally because it cannot extort payment from every individual to finance the myriad federal functions not authorized by the Constitution.
- The FairTax is finally fair to rich people! No more progressive taxation under the ugly income tax — a tax that penalizes you for being more productive. And this is why some people oppose the FairTax; it is because now the rich are taxed as the poor are. The rich must relinquish more! they say. And how much more? And who is rich? Who determines these arbitrary constructions? What obligates the "rich" man to give to the "poor" man? There is no norm to establish this creed, which is why it has no answer and no substance.
As all popular federal governments do, the national sales tax (i.e., the FairTax) will grow over time. What is the harm in 1% more? And then another 1 percent? It must be noted: the proposed 23% is to cover current expenditures. What happens, as we've unfortunately seen over the past centuries, when the federal government spends more? The sales tax must be increased proportionately. Who determines the correct percentage? And is the sales tax on top of already existing state sales tax and "sin taxes," e.g., cigarettes?
The FairTax must be rejected for what it is: A farce. There is no simple, no just tax. Repeal them all!