RE: National Sales Tax
Yes, that was one of the objections raised, the response being that it would not matter whether you were spending current earnings or saved monies, that most of the nation's saving is unspendable in the form of home equity, and that having a tax on purchases would tend to reduce impulse spending, leading to savings. I found that plausible.
Other points raised during the discussion:
Sales taxes are regressive! Yes, so we would exempt food purchases and medical services, supplies, and equipment.
Sales Taxes would upset the economy by taking money out of it! Not so...money would be put back into the economy by
eliminanting all withholding. Taxes on inheritance, death, and capital gains would be eliminated.
Social Security, on which all Americans rely to some extent, would be thrown into chaos! Not so. We would simply put a new system in place that would give every worker, at the age of 65, a check for (say) $1,200 monthly, no matter what the earning level had been in their lifetime.
There were many other questions and objections than these few, but the responses were level, quickly presented as though they had been pre-considered, and seemed to satisfy the questioner in each case. It was an impressive, instructive, grass roots, conversation among friends.
Chaz/Thucydidies |
