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• Tuesday, January 1, 2008 06:26 PM

  Flat tax

  Articles dealing with religion in politics seem to attract dozens of passionate letters. For me they make for addictive reading, but I'd like to bring up Huckabee's flat tax proposal -- admittedly a much drier subject...

  If this proposal is enacted, this would be a huge change for all of us, and I'm concerned that Huckabee and his supporters have not thought the thing through. Also I've run into very few comments about it.

  Very simple-mindedly he sells this as abolishing the IRS. Who wouldn't like that --- but what would be the consequences? While it takes the IRS off individuals' backs, won't it increase the burden on small businesses (core Republicans)?

  The concept of taxing consumption vs. income is appealing to me because it could curb over-consumption and encourage work and savings. But how would this affect the current consumer-driven economy?

  The flat tax would also do away with the tax advantages of home mortgages and charitable giving -- correct? Have Huckabee's religious supporters thought of this?

  I have read that Huckabee's proposal would generate substantially less revenue than the current system. How can someone who calls himself "conservative" propose a plan that likely leads to even larger deficits? I think it is reckless to advocate such radical change.

  I am sure there are many details about this flat tax proposal that I have not learned -- and I guess that is the point of this letter. Maybe the media (and all of us) should be paying more attention to concrete issues like this, and devoting less time to fun arguments about religion.

  —Skeptic Read Skeptic's other letters
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