A prebate is much simpler than trying to exempt items. It is also cheap to administer - if you have a valid SSN then you get a check. That’s it.

The SSA already prints 54 million checks per month. Keep in mind there are only 105 million households. The scale isn’t that different.

Boortz stated he’s talked to bank and credit card companies would would *PAY* the gov’t to administer the prebate. Of course you can figure out why…they’ll deposit the prebate to your CC or ATM card each month.

I also happen to be dirt poor. Not only do income and payroll taxes give me no incentives to get a second job or to save and invest my money, it discourages me from it because I don’t want to hassle with IRS forms worrying about how to properly declair interest income and capital gains. I can never know whether I’m paying too much or too little so screw it. But I would pay double, even tripple prices if it meant eliminating income and payroll taxes because I know what a huge boon it would be for my person prosperity. If the worst the Fair tax can do is raise prices by 30%- HAH, I’M TOTALLY SOLD!!!

The Fair Tax will REPLACE the current embedded cost of the tax code, which goes away under the Fair Tax. a $100 item right now really should cost about $77, add back the 30%, you’re at essentially the same price as now. Even if ALL of the embedded cost of the tax code does not come out of prices, and prices actually increase, you’ll be covered with a larger prebate (to all legal households) to reflect the increased cost of living. Anyway you look at it, its a wash.

If people are forced to awaken from their ignorant blissfull slumber at actually seeing the cost of their gov’t on every retail sales receipt — Great! Maybe they’ll join the rest of us and actually do something to get a handle of the wild spending of our public “servants”.

“It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather, a tireless, irate minority keen to set brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.” … Samuel Adams

In addition to the lobbying industry you referred to, one other reason not to exempt food products goes to the FairTax’s goal of simply un-taxing the necessities of life. Yes, food is a necessity, but not everyone consumes just what is needed to get by. [Pardon this for sounding class warfare-ish, I lack the time to word it more appropriately] Why should a rich guy who throws a lavish wedding for his daughter not have to pay tax on the caviar, fine pastries, etc. for his guests that most certainly exceeds what would be considered necessary to survive? Under the FairTax no one pays taxes on the necessities, but everyone pays equally for anything beyond that.

To a broader point - I would suggest that one shouldn’t oppose the FairTax because it isn’t perfect. There is no way to develop a scheme for the government to take your money that would be perfect. I suggest that you always compare the FairTax directly to the income tax, making pro and con assessments for each. The FairTax may have blemishes and things we all wish were different, but the slate of income taxes that it replaces are an outright abomination.