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To: Les H who wrote (21040)	7/24/1999 10:48:00 PM
From: James F. Hopkins	Respond to of 99985

OT ; Les I can't go into politics on a thread like this, I hate one liners on the subject and I've studied political systems to much to do myself justice in trying to post the frames I consider reasonable. On top of that I'm not a good writer when it comes to clearly expressing what I understand. Being I am a pragmatist I hate the idea that there is some simple thing that will work for every one in every part of the world, I know taht can never happen unless all people get educated equally and think the same, if that happens we lose our diversity become "inbreed" and fall pray to evils we have never even dreamed of. I just don't think there will or should be one wrench to fit all nuts, even a monkey wrench was adjustable, but a poor excuse for a good set of sockets. BTW I like tools, I have a cheap set of Kmart sockets I fretted over buying some 30 years ago as I was really strapped for cash. I have not lost a one and many fond memories of how they have served me come back each time I open the now somewhat rusty case. -------------- Flat tax seems simple but that's the problem it's too simple and power will build in the hands of fewer and fewer people. A progressive tax was started to help check power from getting into the hands of a very few. The concept was around before income tax ( which should have never passed ) it was part and party to the idea of divisions of power and checks and balances while modern politicians like to bait people with such simple things as flat tax, they also fail to point out it's not fair. Government does function to build an infrastructure and to protect it , the more powerful people get to use that infrastructure and benefit from it more than the less powerful, they also have more for the government to protect, and by rights should pay more tax than those who do not get to exploit the infrastructure and hardly have a pot to pee in for the government to go to war over. So forget rich and poor think power. Power should be taxed and the most powerful the most, we do it mostly backwards, but a flat tax is the worst kind of tax there is. That people bought into a sales tax was astounding to me, I fought it from the very start. The war of independence was fought in part because of a sales tax that became so overbearing it was considered criminal by the people who first started this nation. Ironically people reject real estate taxes yet they are the most effecent , and the most fair , if they are progressive. Let a person have a homestead Tax free up to a limit, then Tax the ownership ( power ) gets more benefits from government no matter how you cut the cake, if they don't like it let them try to live in a country with no government at all, and that can happen even here. Jim PS The closet anarchist is the first one to want to call the police if the barbarians come pounding on his door.

To: Les H who wrote (21040)	7/25/1999 2:05:00 PM
From: Slava Chechik	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 99985

O.T. Les, sales tax is the fairest form of taxation. If one buys something he/she pays tax. It does not matter if you buy bread and milk, or mansion and yacht. It means all rich people would have to pay it too. That's why it would never happen. Now poor and rich do not pay much and middle class (or more likely working poor) pays to the full extent. There will be no need to file tax forms for individuals. IRS and all it is abuses could be thing of the past. Here is another reason why government would not support sales tax. On the positive side cost of compliance for individual will go to zero, government spending will depend on the health of the economy, all "under the table money" will be also taxable, and most of states already have a system to collect sales tax. Slava Chechik