Gravel and Economics

[evolvedForm]

Tonight he claimed that America would be less wasteful if we eradicated the income taxed and jacked up sales taxes. I don't know much about economics, but wouldn't this kill our consumer-based economy?

[Brainwalter]

"consumer-based economy" refers to unsustainable imbalances caused by statist intervention. People who spend more than they make (consume more than they produce) will grow poorer and eventually bankrupt if they continue doing so. This is obvious to most people as it pertains to individuals, but some apparently don't connect the dots when it comes to a country's economy.

[adios]

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Tonight he claimed that America would be less wasteful if we eradicated the income taxed and jacked up sales taxes. I don't know much about economics, but wouldn't this kill our consumer-based economy?

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Possibly. I'm not defending or panning the idea of a sales tax instead of an income tax. The counter balance to the damper on consumption is that people would have more disposable income since they don't pay taxes.

Nobody really knows how it would work out. There's always been a debate on what to add a sales tax to. Food is often mentioned as being exempt. Special interests would surely be lobbying to exempt their products from a sales tax, Surely some will succeed and we're likely to see another complicated system IMO.

[NeBlis]

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Tonight he claimed that America would be less wasteful if we eradicated the income taxed and jacked up sales taxes. I don't know much about economics, but wouldn't this kill our consumer-based economy?



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Find out about what he was advocating here. Fair Tax website

[Nielsio]

Gravel is quite interventionist nationally, I think.

Both income AND sales taxes should be eradicated.

[natedogg]

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Tonight he claimed that America would be less wasteful if we eradicated the income taxed and jacked up sales taxes.

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It depends on how you define wasteful. I suspect he defines wasteful as "you are buying stuff I don't think you really need so I think we should tax it as a way of discouraging you from buying it, since, in my infinite wisdom, I know better what you need than you do."

natedogg

[TomCollins]

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Tonight he claimed that America would be less wasteful if we eradicated the income taxed and jacked up sales taxes.

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It depends on how you define wasteful. I suspect he defines wasteful as "you are buying stuff I don't think you really need so I think we should tax it as a way of discouraging you from buying it, since, in my infinite wisdom, I know better what you need than you do."

natedogg

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What if you mean wasteful in the fact that it costs billions and billions of dollars and millions of hours of time to properly comply with income tax regulations and that time and money is being wasted?