To the editor: Elections are close by and the rhetoric from all
sides is heating up. Tax the rich. Forty-seven percent of
Americans do not pay income taxes. What is the common underlying
factor in these and similar statements? The income tax system is
broken, and our nation is suffering, especially young Americans
ages 18 to 29. In fact, 1.7 million of these young people have
been jobless for the past year. This is the highest unemployment
rate for that age group since World War II. This is a generation
in danger of becoming the lost generation. There is a solution,
called the fair tax. The fair tax is a comprehensive plan to
replace federal income and payroll taxes with a consumption tax
on new goods and services. Under the fair tax, no tax credits or
exemptions are provided. However, fair tax provides a monthly,
universal “prebate” or rebate that makes sure each household
with income under the federal poverty level can meet their needs
without receiving an undue burden in the form of a consumption
tax, ther