Tax

[A18]

...

[A18]

Federal sales tax w/ rebate to make it progressive.

[A18]

option 1. If I were in charge though I'd probably do a more direct "Robin Hood" approach though, I'd seize assets of evil corporations like Wal-Mart and directly give what they've looted back to the people.

Einstein once mused that as punishment for his lack of respect for authority, fate made him an authority. Along those lines one can only hope that fate one day makes Better Red filthy rich!!  

Yeah, that'll get back at him.

[A18]

Problem with dividing the burden among the states, according to population:

What if one state doesn't quite come up with the funds one year? Does the country as a whole pay it off as part of a national debt, or does the state? What if it hasn't been payed off ten years later--should the citizens of that one state be responsible? Keep in mind that people move from state to state a lot, and it's not really the same thing as moving from country to country.

I think a flat tax would be way better than what we have now, and as Nym90 already pointed out, it would help poor/middle-class people out. However, I still have a problem with the income tax, just in principle. I think it's a complete violation of the fourth amendment (had the 16th not been passed later), and ignores people's privacy rights.

Also, a sales tax could just be added on to whatever each state already has (say, 2%), so it wouldn't cost the feds much. We could abolish the entire IRS. But I think people should get a rebate, especially since the sales tax would probably have to be pretty big at first.

[A18]

Yeah. But somehow I get the feeling Bill Gates is going to buy more than just milk.

If he lives the exact lifestyle of a lower class person, he can pay that level of taxes. Who cares? But if he's going to buy billion dollar houses, that's gonna be a million dollar tax.

[A18]

If you don't benefit from the money, you aren't living any differently than a paycheck-to-paycheck family.

How are you rich if you don't spend any of it?

[A18]

An income tax is not a tax on being wealthy. How many times do I have to say this?

[A18]

I say give a flat rebate to everyone which would cover spending up to the poverty level (NOT based on your personal spending; you can spend nothing and still get the few hundred dollars). Then go with a national sales tax.

It would not punish consumption because you're keeping your entire income. Prices go up, so does your paycheck.

[A18]

You can't live on $300.

The only point would be to curb the affects of the national sales tax on basic needs (food, rent, etc.).