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FROM 34,000 FEET OVER SOMEWHERE.

I'm sitting on my flight to Austin, and instead of badgering the flight attendants I decided to take out the Vision laptop and prepare some notes for tomorrow's show.  This flight is about two hours, and I'm in the mood to write.  So sit back and relax ... and read.

This is the third week of The FairTax Book tour.  I have never done anything quite like this before.  There has not been one single day since the last day in July where I didn't have at least one thing to do to promote the FairTax.  Radio and TV interviews, speeches and book signings.  This in addition to doing my own radio show every weekday.  On those few rare occasions where I got to spend an evening at home (and that one weekend) there were always stacks of books on the dining room table from bulk purchasers who wanted their books signed.  I have, by a conservative estimate, signed over 10,000 books since the first book signing in Atlanta on Thursday, August 4th.  It's been an incredibly busy time, and as I sit here at 34,000 feet over Alabama, or Mississippi, or somewhere between Atlanta and Austin --- I want to say that I've thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

The best part of the tour has been, as Sean Hannity told me it would be, just meeting the people.  By the time I hit a book signing at seven or eight in the evening I have already been up and at it for about 13 or 14 hours. To put it bluntly, I'm beat.  It doesn't seem to matter, though, when I walk into a book store and see hundreds of welcoming people waiting to get a book signed.  You would be surprised how quickly the energy returns and the batteries are recharged.  I'm ready to rip again.

Every day I do this radio show from a studio in Atlanta, Georgia.  Sometimes, when I'm lucky, I get to work from a studio in Naples, Florida, my second home.  I'm looking to be more lucky this coming winter.  At any rate, while we're on the air my actual human contact is pretty much limited to Belinda and Royal.  Those are the two faces I see, the two people with whom I'm having constant interaction.  You may find this strange, but sometimes the three of us can actually forget that there are millions of you out there listening to every word we say.  (Listeners?  You mean we have listeners?)  It's only when I make a public appearance, such as these book signings, that I actually see the faces of listeners ... the people who keep the ratings soaring and their stations airing the show.  Believe me, it means something when you present me with your book to sign and say "I listen to you three hours a day."  It stuns me that you would give me that much time out of your life, and you just can't know how gratified I am.  So, from the bottom of my heart ... I know you're out there; I know you don't agree with everything, or maybe even a lot of things that I say; but I know you're listening.  I've seen you and talked with you over the past few weeks ... and I'm so grateful.

Now ... about the reason for this tour

Just in case you haven't picked up on this yet, I'm completely and passionately dedicated to the idea of the FairTax.  I've been studying the idea of replacing the income tax with a consumption tax for over 25 years, and the FairTax is as close as I've seen, and as close as I believe we can get to a fair and effective plan.  I understand, and I'm sure you understand, that the FairTax is not the perfect answer.  It is merely the best answer.

Our current corporate and personal income tax structure is alienating the American people, chasing American business and capital out of this country, and choking our economy.  This is a tax structure that was devised by politicians for politicians.  There are politicians in Washington DC who view our current tax structure as the best vote-buying tool they have at their disposal.  These politicians work tirelessly to manipulate and amend our current tax code so as to benefit those taxpayers whom they view as supporters, more often than not to the detriment of those whom they view as potential opponents.  It just should not be this way.  The Washington culture should not support literally thousands of K Street denizens who make hundreds of thousands of dollars each and every year doing just one thing -- gaming and manipulating our current tax structure for the benefit of their deep-pocket clients. These politicians and their remora lobbyists actually view every single dollar you earn as belonging to them.  Their concerns are twofold: First, figuring our just how much of your money they can keep without running the risk of an open tax revolt; and secondly, trying to figure out just how to distribute the money they keep so as to maximize the political benefits that flow from government spending.

It should not be this way.  America deserves better.  We all know that the basic functions of the federal government need to be funded, and that it will take some system of taxation to do it.  All Americans ask is that the method of taxation be fair, evenhanded, and easy to understand.  We will gladly pay for the essential functions of government so long as we don't suspect that our money is being used instead to buy political advantage or to pay for past favors.

This is why I am so passionate about the FairTax.  This is a tax system that was devised by economists, business people and ordinary American citizens, not by politicians.  The goal was simple:  Develop a system of taxation that is easy to understand, that treats every American exactly the same, that funds the federal government at its current funding level, and that does not empower politicians.  Where every other tax reform idea fails, the The FairTax succeeds in meeting this criteria.  It was during one particular focus group involving ordinary citizens that one participant said "This plan is so simple that you should just call it the Fair Tax."  Hence the name.

You know what the FairTax plan is.  Let me tell you what it is not.  The FairTax is not a "something for nothing" tax scheme.  We aren't promising you extra dollars in your pocket or a new car in your driveway.  The promise is simple.  Your earnings will remain essentially the same, and you will spend essentially the same amount for your consumer goods and services.  You won't pay taxes on your investment earnings, nor will you pay taxes when you give money away as a gift.  Your heirs won't pay taxes when you go tango uniform and they inherit the wealth you've worked so hard to acquire.   You won't fall victim to the Alternative Minimum Tax or an IRS audit.  You will be compensated at the beginning of every month for the FairTax you would be expected to pay during that month on the basic necessities of life, as set by the poverty level for your sized household.  As they say, "there ain't no such thing as a free lunch," and that applies to the FairTax, unless you want to consider treating April 15th as just another Spring day as something you get for free.

Now .. let me modify that "we aren't promising you extra dollars in your pocket" line.  Under the FairTax our economic future would look quite bright indeed, so bright that, in fact, you will almost certainly benefit in the long run.  Economists estimate that American businesses and individuals spend anywhere from $200 to $500 billion dollars a year just to comply with our tax laws. These figures vary because the definition of tax compliance expenses change from study to study.  So, pick a number between 200 and 500 billion.  That's the amount of money that flows back into our economy with the implementation of the FairTax.  Consider also the ten trillion dollars in American dollars that have fled the United States to work in capital markets overseas.  Why were these dollars sent to work outside of our system?   They were sent overseas to because to work because the return would be higher outside the crushing burden of the United States tax code.  You don't have to be an economist --- you don't even have to be able to balance your own checkbook -- to contemplate just what it would mean to our economy if those ten trillion dollars started flowing back home. Increases in capital investment = more jobs = higher pay = a stronger US economy. 

The FairTax was born because one Houston businessman got sick and tired of spending so much time in board meetings worrying about the tax consequences of business decisions.  Can you think back over the past few years?  Undoubtedly you, too, have made personal and business decisions based on tax consequences.  You can't even make a simple decision such as how to save and invest for your own retirement without considering the tax consequences.  Your concern should be about your retirement -- not your taxes.  That would be your reality with the FairTax.

With the FairTax, American businesses would be free to make decisions based solely on what would benefit the business, its employees, shareholders and customers the most --- not on how it would affect the business tax picture.  The only logical result from such a system would be enhanced growth, healthier businesses with stronger bottom lines, and a stronger economy.  With the passage of the FairTax, America would become the world's number one tax haven.  Every board of directors of every major corporation in the world would be considering whether or not to locate their next plant or facility in the United States so as to take advantage of a system where there is no tax component to capital and labor.  Tell me, why would Daimler Chrysler want to continue to make Mercedes automobiles in Germany if they could do so in American with no taxes on capital and labor?

To what extent could the FairTax enhance economic growth in the United States?  Some leading economists have suggested that with the FairTax economic growth could as much as double over the next 10 to 15 years.  Savings and investment might increase as much as 70% or more during the first year!  Among other things, this would mean the elimination of our budget deficit and our current Social Security and Medicare crunch.  The FairTax would buy us all the time we would reasonably need to seek orderly and comprehensive solutions to these two safety net programs.

People have asked Congressman Linder and myself if there are any Americans who would not benefit from the passage of the FairTax.  You bet there are. I've already mentioned them.  Politicians and K-Street lobbyists.  These lobbyists are going to be fighting like hell to make sure this plan doesn't grow any legs inside the Beltway.  You have to fight just as hard to make sure it does. 

 Detractors are focusing their attacks on the FairTax on several different fronts.  Some are hammering the "progressive" issue.  They're playing on the wealth envy of the American people by telling you that the rich just won't be paying their "fair share."  The purpose of a tax system is to raise money for the necessary operations of government, not to punish people for daring to achieve.  Again, the FairTax treats every American the same.  Isn't that what "equal protection under the law" is about?  What about the poor?  The FairTax is the only tax reform plan that completely relieves America's poor from the responsibility of paying taxes for the operation of the federal government.   Under the FairTax plan the poor don't even have to pay for their own Social Security and Medicare.  Sorry, concern for the poor can't be used as an excuse to oppose the FairTax.  I know that Karl Marx like the idea of progressive taxation.  His dream has failed.  It's time to move on to a better one.

Other detractors will tell you that the FairTax can't possibly be revenue neutral, that the rate would have to be as much as 50 OR 60% to fund the government at its current levels.  Well ... here's a bit of a factoid for you to digest.  Over the past 18 quarters of the US economy, that would be over the past four and one-half years, if we had been operating with the FairTax instead of our current system of personal and business income taxes, federal revenues would have been higher for all but one quarter.  So much for the "it would have to be 60%" argument.

Some of the members of the president's tax reform commission have reportedly said that they will not recommend a complete overhaul of our tax code.  Instead, they want to wimp out with some incremental changes.  The FairTax, some say, is just too bold a proposal to undertake.  Are these Americans talking?  There are ideas and concepts that are just too bold for American to pursue?  America is and always has been a country of bold ideas, a country that does not shirk from bold undertakings.  It's sad to hear people who purport to be our leaders talk about a fear of undertaking a bold plan, but there they are.

Well ... we're landing in Austin.  Time to turn off all electronic devices and return our seat backs and trey tables to the upright and locked position.  Thanks for listening.  And to the character in Seat 2A ... hope you didn't strain your neck trying to see what I was typing.

NUMBER TWO

No, I'm not sorry that I bought the book 1776.  I bought it about six weeks ago, so I'm not part of the reason that 1776 moved into the No. 1 spot on the New York Times Bestseller's List for the first week in September.  The FairTax Book is now No. 2.  Many stores ran out of books because of the unexpected (even to Congressman Linder and myself) demand.  Those stores are now restocked, and perhaps with a little help from our friends we'll move back into No.1 for another week.  Why is this important?  Because these books at the top spot get attention, and that means attention for The FairTax.  That, after all, is why we wrote the book.  Money?  I'll try to make my bundle from "Somebody's Gotta Say It" next year.  Again, thanks for your support.  Now don't just let those books sit on shelves when you're finished.  This plan goes nowhere fast if you don't start leaning on your elected officials to get something done.  You might have notice that even though the book debuted and stayed at No. 1 for two weeks, it doesn't seem to be garnering any real attention from the mainstream media.  Television appearances have been pretty much limited to the cable news networks.  The broadcast networks have done nothing.  Ditto for the major weekly news magazines and major newspapers.  The media isn't going to pick up this ball and run with it.  You have the ball ... you have to carry it toward the finish line.

GAS, GAS, GAS

I'm listening to CNN this morning as I finish these program notes.  It seems that every other story is about the price of gas.  We hear about people buying scooters and others walking to work.  Not once did I hear that the price of gas, adjusted for inflation, is not yet at the record levels of 1981.  Not once have I heard of the role environmentalists have played in this gas crisis.  No stories about drilling in that section of ANWR .. the area that was set aside for drilling in ANWR.  No stories about why we're not exploring for gas and oil off the Florida gulf coast.  We even had a story about how much gas the president uses in Air Force One and Marine One.  I listened carefully and heard nothing about the fact that we haven't built a refinery in the U.S. in almost 30 years, or the role that those special blends demanded by environmentalists play in prices and shortages. Nope, it's all about the so-called "record gas prices" and what a hardship it is for people.  Well, if it's such a hardship, can someone please tell me why people are driving MORE?  Not less?  CNN didn't cover that one this morning.

PROTESTERS SINK TO NEW LOW

Just when you think leftists protesting the war in Iraq can't sink any lower, they do.  Today we find out that the Walter Reed Hospital in Washington has been targeted by Democrats protesting the war.  Among some of their slogans: "Enlist here and die for Halliburton."  How nice.  So what are they doing...holding up signs, protesting across the street from the hospital?  Not at all.  It's much worse.

These uncaring, subhuman wastes of oxygen have been camping out right in front of the main entrance.  And not just with signs...they even have fake caskets lined up, right on the sidewalk. So why haven't you heard anything in the media about this over-the-top, shameless bashing of our wounded soldiers?  Because the media is ignoring it.

To cover this would cast the anti-war movement in a negative light.  We're supposed to believe that those against the war are being led by warm and fuzzy Peace Mom Cindy Sheehan.  The press selectively ignores the human dog squeeze that is defacing the sidewalk outside of Walter Reed.

Inside that hospital are soldiers that were injured in the War On Terror...and some of them are fighting for their lives. And how are they honored?  By these protesters who tell them they died for Halliburton.  The left is turning on the soldiers who are fighting in this war, and we're starting to see it.

Is this what they mean when they say they support the troops, but not the war? That's a strange way of showing it.

REDNECK SCRAP BOOK

Wow, I sure hope this is Photoshopped.  The slightest breeze could be a big problem. More in the Redneck Scrap Book.

READING ASSIGNMENTS

Does the rise of talk radio, Fox News, the Internet and other new media outlets mean that the mainstream media is becoming more liberal?  Ann Coulter says no...they were already liberal.

Another case of the media being caught red-handed in the liberal media bias cookie jar: back in 1997, Clinton aide George Stephanopoulos said we should assassinate Saddam Hussein.  Not a peep from the media back then!

Pat Robertson has apologized for saying we should take out Hugo Chavez.  Perhaps the media can sleep better now.

Britain has outlined the criteria by which it will decide who gets thrown out of the country for hate speech.  They  are said to be considering expelling several "preachers of hate." Wait until the left in that country gets a hold of what will be defined as hate.

Politicians of both political parties have been tripping all over themselves to pander to Hispanics in order to get their votes. This Hispandering also means nothing is being done about illegal immigration.  But Ruben Navarrette says we shouldn't assume all U.S. Hispanics are soft on immigration.

Iraq is just like Vietnam...that is, if you watch NBC News.  The Media Research Center continues to report on the networks that are toeing the party line.

Larry Elder has produced an independent documentary about Michael Moore, and in his latest column, he tells us all about it.

Is John Roberts going to cruise to confirmation?  Senate-watchers say no....because Teddy Kennedy has brought back to Washington one of his biggest guns to oppose Roberts.  Robert Novak explains.

Cindy Sheehan is a symptom of a larger problem for the Democrats...and George Will says it's a problem that could cause them to lose another presidential election in 2008.

Alan Reynolds takes a look at the idiotic new rules for SUV's and fuel consumption announced by the Bush administration the other day. You'll be surprised at the loopholes.

Intern Heather's Reading Assignments:

Guidelines to smacking your child, New Zealand style.

PETA wannabes from Europe: Robbing the grave for guinea pigs.

Today's count: 65 of 490 are pregnant . Tomorrow's statistics expected to double. Now, if they would just graduate.

Virtual mugging of virtual powers and reselling them, virtually.

A nun and a condom : Promoting a positive image.

A crazed rabbit tells Mr. Ed to check on his wife.

WHAT THE HECK ARE THOSE POINTY HAND THINGS?

These are links to each individual story on the Nuze, p-links for the geeks out there. Plus, they work today and they'll work tomorrow. Now you can easily discuss/debate/rip apart the Nuze without worrying about the links going bad. Enjoy!

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