Finally paying attention

[mindstalk]

To 2008. I haven't found a big table comparing the candidates, but SelectSmart lets you answer questions and gives matches. My list:
Augustson 86%, Kucinich 84%, Gravel 81%, Obama 78%, Dodd 75%, Biden 74%, Clinton 72%, Bloomberg 70%, Edwards 68%, Clark/Gore 66%, Richardson 64%, jump to Paul 55%, big jump to McCain and Giuliani 33%, slides down to 15% in the dregs of the GOP.

Some of the stuff -- free/fair trade, business/labor, I'm not sure about. Richardson gets hurt by being a free trader and opposing full gay marriage, but gets endorses by the NRA which I actually like though I gave it a low priority. Bloomberg's descriptions sound pretty attractive over all, not sure why he's only 70%. Gravel supports a national sales tax, which seems weird.

Comments

[countrycousin.livejournal.com]

Interesting. Got Obama, Gore, Kucinich to lead off. I suppose it does well enough for selecting people who say what I like to hear. Doesn't consider how effective I think they'd be at doing it. Kucinich some good things, but can't seem to get anywhere. Gore nearly got there. Obama speaks very well - wonder if that will be enough . . .

Thanks for the link.

What's so weird about Gravel's FairTax???

[ih2005.livejournal.com]

Mike Gravel does a great job of explaining (http://youtube.com/watch?v=ahabyIXtHOE) why he supports scrapping the tax code (http://snipr.com/scrapthecode): It supports those rich elitists who support the socialist-elitists in government which accrues to the detriment of those at the bottom of the ladder (The payroll tax starts at dollar ONE and is the most regressive tax ever was).

While many who are invested in the current income tax system seek to demagog the well-researched FairTax plan (http://snipurl.com/taxpanelrebutted), FairTax's theoretical underpinnings have been professionally reviewed (http://snipurl.com/taxnotes_galerebut), and its acceptance in the professional / academic community (http://snipurl.com/econsopenletter) continues to grow.

Renown economist Laurence Kotlikoff believes that failure to enact the FairTax - choosing instead to try to "flatten" what he deems to be a non-flattenable income tax system - will eventuate into an irrevocable economic meltdown, (http://snipurl.com/meltdowninprogress) because of the hidden aspects of the current system that make political accountability impossible. Tom Frey, of the DiVinci Institute, foresees the coming collapse (http://snipurl.com/incometaxcollapse) of the income tax system.

Here is why the FairTax MUST replace the income tax. It's:

• SIMPLE, easy to understand
• EFFICIENT, inexpensive to comply with and doesn't cause less-than-optimal business decisions for tax minimization purposes
• FAIR, loophole free and everyone pays their share
• LOW TAX RATE, achieved by broad base with no exclusions
• PREDICTABLE, doesn't change, so financial planning is possible
• UNINTRUSIVE, doesn't intrude into our personal affairs or limit our liberty
• VISIBLE, not hidden from the public in tax-inflated prices or otherwise
• PRODUCTIVE, rewards, rather than penalizes, work and productivity

Its benefits are as follows:

For INDIVIDUALS:
• No more tax on income - make as much as you wish
• You receive your full paycheck - no more deductions
• You pay the tax when you buy "at retail" - not "used"
• No more double taxation (e.g. like on current Capital Gains)
• Reduction of "pre-FairTaxed" retail prices by 20%-30%
• Adding back 29.9% FairTax maintains current price levels
• FairTax would constitute 23% portion of new prices
• Every household receives a monthly check, or "pre-bate"
• "Prebate" is "advance payback" for taxes payable on monthly consumption to poverty level
• FairTax's "prebate" ensures progressivity, poverty protection
• Finally, citizens are knowledgeable of what their tax IS
• Elimination of "parasitic" Income Tax industry
• NO MORE IRS. NO MORE FILING OF TAX RETURNS by individuals
• Those possessing illicit forms of income will ALSO pay the FairTax
• Households have more disposable income to purchase goods
• Savings is bolstered with reduction of interest rates

For BUSINESSES:
• Corporate income and payroll taxes revoked under FairTax
• Business compensated for collecting tax at "cash register"
• No more tax-related lawyers, lobbyists on company payrolls
• No more embedded (hidden) income/payroll taxes in prices
• Reduced costs. Competition - not tax policy - drives prices
• Off-shore "tax haven" headquarters can now return to U.S
• No more "favors" from politicians at expense of taxpayers
• Resources go to R&D and study of competition - not taxes
• Marketplace distortions eliminated for fair competition
• US exports increase their share of foreign markets

For the COUNTRY:
• 7% - 13% economic growth projected in the first year of the FairTax
• Jobs return to the U.S.
• Foreign corporations "set up shop" in the U.S.
• Tax system trends are corrected to "enlarge the pie"
• Larger economic "pie," means thinner tax rate "slices"
• Initial 23% portion of price is pressured downward as "pie" increases
• No more "closed door" tax deals by politicians and business
• FairTax sets new global standard. Other countries will follow