Actually, in 2005 Americans spent MORE money than they made.  First time there was negative savings since the great depression.

@Eomund:

I am suggesting that American Citizens should have to pay tax regardless if they have, say a villa in Tuscany where they spend most of their time, and spend most of their money.

What I meant was that the Gross tax income collected by the government would decrease if everyone in the country paid less taxes.  It would have to, its not possible for it to stay the same or INCREASE.  I am not saying this is a bad thing in and of itself, but combine it with run away spending (Big Government Conservatives?  Wahhh?)  and its a disaster.  Government spending needs to be curtailed before we start chopping away at tax revinues.  Perhaps end our rediculous thinly veiled aims at an empire, and cut in to the MASSIVE defense budget we have, and don't need...

See, that's where I think the platform fails.  The culture of the United States does everything it can to run away from personal responsibility.  Even in our political system, whenever something goes wrong it's the presidents fault, or congresses fault, and not our fault for electing said idiots.

Suddenly thrusting personal responsibility on a lot of these people would be dangerous to country stability. 

 Ahem.... "A Modest Proposal".

senseinobaka, I apologize for calling you rabid and for my earlier misunderstanding. However I was and remain annoyed that you deny that you said that a "flat-fee" tax system would be a fair one when you plainly stated it with a fairly detailed, if simple, example.

As for what is and isn't namecalling versus dispassionate labeling of social-economic-political ideology, (A) "fascist" is pretty much a poisoned term since the 1940s as anyone even slightly knowledgeable on the subject ought to know; and (B) when you said "That's pretty loony, but then again you seem to love loony things like the facist democratic congress passing facist legislation like a min wage increase" you clearly meant it as an insult. Trying to deny it is -- incredible. But I suppose I'm not too surprised given your recent history.

I would like to make a general note that I do not necessarily consider communist, socialist, and Marxist to be slurs; but I saw senseinobaka's post as using them as such. Fascist is almost always a slur after WWII, but there do exist exceptions to every rule (which senseinobaka's post was not one of).

I do not subscribe to any of those ideologies in any case.

Well, it depends from society to society. And I believe that the US - because of its deeply rooted individualistic liberalism - is less inclined to get social disasters from smaller levels of inequality than isolated villages in south east asia or africa. Still, a higher gini-coefficient generally leads to more unsafe societies. It is not the basic needs that is the problem in a developed economy, it is material and social inequality.

http://www.answers.com/topic/relative-deprivation

Edit: I'll add a quote from the loathed evil Karl Marx. Its from the link I posted above and it sums up it all pretty good.

"A house may be large or small; as long as the neighboring houses are likewise small, it satisfies all social requirement for a residence. But let there arise next to the little house a palace, and the little house shrinks to a hut. The little house now makes it clear that its inmate has no social position at all to maintain, or but a very insignificant one; and however high it may shoot up in the course of civilization, if the neighboring palace rises in equal of even in greater measure, the occupant of the relatively little house will always find himself more uncomfortable, more dissatisfied, more cramped within his four walls." 

 FRICKING AWESOME!!!! LOL! ROFLMAO!!!!!!! I LOVE IT!!!!

One thing I'll admit about the FairTax: It hasn't actually been PROVEN to not work.

That gives you guys a huge leg up on the global warming denialists. (Assuming, that is...)

And here's a thing I'll admit about our current tax system: it's like a house in that you have to keep it clean or crap builds up.

Tax deductions and loopholes add up until it's just a big mess. I'm sure it was a good idea at one time to put that empty pizza box on the end-table next to the couch, but that time has long since passed...

And Congress is full of slobs.

there's this John Mauldin guy whose opinion i value very highly. in his latest newsletter he attacks the fairtax very harshly. here goes.