Rush Limbaugh Reviews The FairTax Book
October 21, 2005 · Filed under: Political Support, Reviews
Marilyn Rickert forwards this excerpt from the print version of the Limbaugh Letter:
I have long championed radical tax reform, as you know. I’ve leaned toward the flat tax, rather than a Boortz-Linder-style consumption tax. But The Fair Tax Book is a serious argument, offering, as the authors say, “tremendous hope†that ordinary Americans can force the Beltway to repeal some 54,000 pages of growth-killing, freedom-limiting, Internal Revenue Code gobbledygook. Besides, any book that uses my term, “the achievers,†instead of “the rich†— and that pushes to reclaim the economic liberty our Founders shed blood to protect — is worth reading.
8 Responses to “Rush Limbaugh Reviews The FairTax Book”
I’ve heard Rush say numerous times that the poor don’t pay enough taxes. If the FairTax truly de-taxes the poor, what does Rush say about that?
I had the opportunity to take a quick peek at the FairTax book in a bookstore yesterday, and I was disappointed – but not surprised – to see that rent, and remaining renters, were not addressed in the book. The authors were, of course, happy to advance the argument that it will be easier to save up a down payment to buy a home, but not a word about those unable to buy homes. While the down payment has historically been the biggest obstacle to homeownership, today there are many programs (public and private) which facilitate buying with little (3 or 5 percent) or even nothing down. That, and today’s low interest rates, have increased homeownership to its current historic highs. Those of us still unable to buy homes have problems far bigger than the down payment – problems unlikely to be resolved under the FairTax.
Terry, you must have posted your complaints about taxing rent at least a dozen times, now, on this blog. I’m not going to approve any more comments by you on that particular subject. As we’ve pointed out numerous times, any tax you pay on rent would be more than adequately off-set by the prebate you receive. If you want a house, then start looking for ways to contribute more to your fellow human beings. Employers will reward you with higher wages. And then you’ll no longer be part of the permanently downtrodden. Welcome to America.
Terry: “Those of us still unable to buy homes have problems far bigger than the down payment – problems unlikely to be resolved under the FairTax.”
I’d say you’re dead on with that, Terry. You’ve got problems far bigger than the down payment. And there’s NO possible governmental resolution for them. I suggest therapy.
You’ve posted elsewhere that you’ve worked minimum wage jobs since the ’80s. That you’ve put no apparent effort into finding anything MORE than a minimum wage job doesn’t obligate the rest of the country to make life easier for you. There’s this odd little thing called ‘personal responsibility’. I assume you’ve heard of it? It’s this really radical idea that if you want more out of life, it’s your responsibility to change your own circumstances – not anyone else’s.
When I was working minimum wage jobs in the ’80s, I didn’t figure I’d be in them forever. I liked the work, but after a while I realized I was stuck. _I_ had to get myself out of the minimum wage jobs. And to do that, I needed to actively look, not wait for something to fall into my lap or Uncle Sugar to magically make it all better. It’s not the government’s job to give you a house.
There’s no guarantee of happiness in the Declaration of Independence – just the right to pursue it.
Don’t blame others if you can’t be bothered to chase it. And don’t expect others to do the work for you, and bring it back and dump it in your lap.
J.
Where did you get the idea that I’ve “put no apparent effort into finding anything MORE than a minimum wage job?” My worthless job history renders my resume worthless. If grades and test scores are any measure of intelligence, I have more brains than most of the people getting hired. As miuch as employers complain that they can’t find literate and numerate applicants, they want first those with specific job skills which I do not have. They would rather hire now someone who can do Job X, and replace them down the road with someone who can do Job Y, than hire someone who needs training but could easily learn X and Y. Lots of things I am capable of doing or learning but artificial barriers exist. I could pass the real estate licensing exam right now, and the bar exam in three months (maybe even right now). But artificial education requirements exist and I can’t afford the tuition. This isn’t really a meritocracxy, despite what you’ve bought into.
What I’ve bought into? I got out of the AF after ten years with the ability to turn a screwdriver, read a manual and follow instructions. (Try translating being a missile mechanic on the Minuteman III into something useful in the civilian world. Didn’t care to work with explosives, and NASA was full up.) I worked plenty of jobs at minimum wage or a bit higher – but I didn’t cop an attitude that I was better than the folks I was working with. I learned from them, asked questions – but most importantly I LEARNED. I also learned how to tailor my resume for the job I was applying for – if it was for an entry level position I tuned it for the qualities they were looking for. I got laid off a number of times – but I took the next job that came along and learned from my mistakes.
So you’re smarter than everyone else and could pass a real estate exam? Gee, you can read a book. I’ve seen plenty of folks who could pass various certification tests that didn’t know which end of a screwdriver to grab when it came to the practical stuff. They wanted the paper that said they were certified, but they weren’t willing to put in the time and work that made the paper indicative of their actual abilities. You can cram for the MCSE exams, but that doesn’t mean you really understand the difference between a router and a switch, it just means you’re good at pattern recognition. And I sure as hell wouldn’t hire someone who just passed the MCSE certifications who didn’t have at least three computers at home and five years experience along with that.
What the two real estate license procedures I’ve looked at (California and Texas) have in common is that their requirements are trying to make sure you actually know what the answers mean on the exam. And I don’t see that as raising the bar unacceptably high.
You talk about artificial barriers – seems more like the barriers are the ones you’ve constructed and maintained yourself. If I were serious about a real estate license, I’d try to get a job in a real estate office – even if it were only shuffling, sorting, and filing paper – then save up for night classes to get the hours needed. Of course, as I said before that requires a bit of personal responsibility.
Job histories indeed. There is no “entry level surgeon” position. Go to night school and get an associate nursing degree and print your own ticket. There are numerous government programs to help the disadvantaged with tuition costs.
I read Rush’s positive comments above about the Fair Tax Book however today on the radio I heard him say that it doesn’t have a chance in hell of passing! A person of his influence must know that when he makes comments like that it surely doesn’t help the cause. If he is in agreement, in principle with the fairtax why doesn’t he get on the radio and encourage his listeners to get behind it! That’s how we will get it passed, not by continually being negative about it. I get the feeling that because HE didn’t come up with it that HE doesn’t want to support and get behind it. Very dissapointing.
There may be “numerous government programs to help the disadvantaged with tuition cost,” but I have not found any that I qualify for. In fact, I have visited college financial aid offices and they have said there is nothing there is no aid available to me.