Why you should know about FairTax

Recent revelations by U.S. Social Security and Medicare officials indicate that these programs will become insolvent sooner than previously anticipated.

As the populace ages, more and more workers who formerly paid into the plans are drawing from them instead. Social Security is in such bad shape, its trustees do not expect recipients to get cost-of-living increases in 2010 or 2011.

There is a way to ensure the soundness of Medicare and Social Security. It is the FairTax, now pending in congressional commitees as HR 25 and S 296.

The FairTax provides for vastly increased funding for these programs because it's a progresive retail sales tax supported by the spending of every consumer in America. The FairTax is a single-rate, federal sales tax collected only once, at the final point of purchase of new goods and services for personal consumption. Thus, the so -called "underground economy" of illegal immigrants, who are paid in cash as day laborers; criminals who pay no taxes because they do not report income, and all who under-pay or avoid paying entirely, will pay their share of taxes every time they purchase services or buy something new.

All Americans receive a monthly "prebate" up to the poverty level to ensure that none pays a tax on necessities.

The income tax, payroll tax, inheritance tax, capital gains tax, inheritance tax and all the other confusing and confiscatory taxes are eliminated.

All the FairTax does is change the current revenue source of narrow, regressive payroll taxes to a new revenue source consisting of a broad, progressive sales tax paid by all consumers. It broadens the tax base and eliminates the hundreds of loopholes, exceptions and exemptions found in our present federal income tax.

The FairTax saves Social Security and Medicare for our children and grandchildren by ensuring that everyone pays their fair share.

To learn more about the Fair Tax, go to www.fairtax.org.

Kurt Thoss

Naperville