Huckabee is an adroit public speaker. He communicates his message in life-like, cogent terms, with compelling examples like the story he told (at the Ames Straw Poll) of what his then-11-yo daughter entered into the “Comments" section of a Visitors Book after visiting the Yad Vashem holocaust museum:
Why didn't somebody do something?
Very effective. Huckabee is all about calling his listeners to
do something, to awaken them to their own empowerment, and
summon them to action in order that Main Street, and not Wall Street, will prevail in guarding the values and beliefs upon which the Republic was founded.
Huckabee puts his listeners at ease, and reassures them, articulating clear concepts in a natural, easy style (no doubt something well-cultivated as a pastor). He’s not angry or demanding, like a Ron Paul, nor is he as
rigidly-scripted as Romney, and his large brown eyes peer through a humble demeanor, drawing a striking contrast to a somewhat
mechanical-squinty Brownback.
One can easily imagine sitting comfortably with this man over a cup of coffee at the Main Street Cafe.
Most importantly, perhaps, Huckabee convinces many that
he is ONE with the FairTax grassroots movement. While many - like Romney, and others, who are invested in the current income tax system - seek to
demagog the well-researched FairTax plan, its acceptance in the
professional / academic community 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 because of the hidden aspects of the current system that make political accountability impossible.
Romney's recent WEAK response to FairTax questioning on
This Week with Geo. Stephanopoulos drew a sharper contrast between Huckabee and all other presidential front-runners who will not embrace it. Huckabee understands that what's wrong with the income tax can't be fixed with
a tap of the hammer, nor a twist of the screwdriver.
That his opponents cling to the destructive Tax Code, the IRS, preserving political power of granting tax favors at continued cost to - and misery of - American families, invigorates his campaign's raison d'etre.
Of the FairTax, Huckabee asserts that 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, FLAT, and FAMILY FRIENDLY, loophole-free, and everyone pays their share
• LOW TAX RATE is 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
A detailed benefits analysis of the plan (from The FairTax Book) explains Huckabee's ardent advocacy:
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 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 at our expense • FairTax sets new global standard. Other countries will follow
While passionately supporting FairTax, Huckabee understands that, if elected President, Congress will have to present the bill for his signature.
His call to action goes beyond his candidacy, Main Street will have to
demand that their legislators deliver the bill.
