It could/would be a good follow-up on the Larry Craig, Mark Foley, and on and one, stories. You could even put in somewhere that you don’t want to live a non-authentic life like many Republicans have been forced by society to do (this is one reason in my estimation why we must do what we can to change the Republican Party from within).

Just a note on one reason why your Grandma may have said, “I won’t tell anyone”: many people in the older generations (yes, older than ME) would have lost their jobs and most everything they worked for in life if people found out they were gay. You know Paul, my partner. He spent many years in the closet because in his business a person could not be “out” and make it up the ladder of success. That is why we owe so much to these “trailblazers” who made it possible for us to live successful live’s and yet be who God really created us to be.

I hope your experience will help other gay people regardless of their politics come out to those they love.

Again, congratulations and great writing!

Renown economist Laurence Kotlikoff believes that failure to enact the FairTax - choosing instead to try to “flatten” what he deems to be a non-flattenable income tax system - will eventuate into an irrevocable economic meltdown (4) because of the hidden aspects of the current system that make political accountability impossible. Tom Frey, of the DiVinci Institute, foresees the coming collapse of the income tax system (5).

Here is why the FairTax MUST replace the income tax. It’s:

• SIMPLE, easy to understand
• EFFICIENT, inexpensive to comply with and doesn’t cause less-than-optimal business decisions for tax minimization purposes
• FAIR, loophole free and everyone pays their share
• LOW TAX RATE, achieved by broad base with no exclusions
• PREDICTABLE, doesn’t change, so financial planning is possible
• UNINTRUSIVE, doesn’t intrude into our personal affairs or limit our liberty
• VISIBLE, not hidden from the public in tax-inflated prices or otherwise
• PRODUCTIVE, rewards, rather than penalizes, work and productivity

Its benefits are as follows:

FOR INDIVIDUALS:
• No more tax on income - make as much as you wish
• You receive your full paycheck - no more deductions
• You pay the tax when you buy “at retail” - not “used”
• No more double taxation (e.g. like on current Capital Gains)
• Reduction of “pre-FairTaxed” retail prices by 20%-30%
• Adding back 29.9% FairTax maintains current price levels
• FairTax would constitute 23% portion of new prices
• Every household receives a monthly check, or “pre-bate”
• “Prebate” is “advance payback” for monthly consumption to poverty level
• FairTax’s “prebate” ensures progressivity, poverty protection
• Finally, citizens are knowledgeable of what their tax IS
• Elimination of “parasitic” Income Tax industry
• NO MORE IRS. NO MORE FILING OF TAX RETURNS by individuals
• Those possessing illicit forms of income will ALSO pay the FairTax
• Households have more disposable income to purchase goods
• Savings is bolstered with reduction of interest rates

FOR BUSINESSES:
• Corporate income and payroll taxes revoked under FairTax
• Business compensated for collecting tax at “cash register”
• No more tax-related lawyers, lobbyists on company payrolls
• No more embedded (hidden) income/payroll taxes in prices
• Reduced costs. Competition - not tax policy - drives prices
• Off-shore “tax haven” headquarters can now return to U.S
• No more “favors” from politicians at expense of taxpayers
• Resources go to R&D and study of competition - not taxes
• Marketplace distortions eliminated for fair competition
• US exports increase their share of foreign markets

FOR THE COUNTRY:
• 7% - 13% economic growth projected in the first year of the FairTax
• Jobs return to the U.S.
• Foreign corporations “set up shop” in the U.S.
• Tax system trends are corrected to “enlarge the pie”
• Larger economic “pie,” means thinner tax rate “slices”
• Initial 23% portion of price is pressured downward as “pie”
increases
• No more “closed door” tax deals by politicians and business
• FairTax sets new global standard. Other countries will follow

(1) http://snipurl.com/taxpanelrebutted (.pdf)
(2) http://snipurl.com/taxnotes_galerebut (.pdf)
(3) http://snipurl.com/econsopenletter (.pdf)
(4) http://snipurl.com/meltdowninprogress
(5) http://snipurl.com/incometaxcollapse

It’s well past time to scrap the tax code ( http://snipr.com/scrapthecode ) and pay for government the way that America’s working men and women are paid - when something is sold.

When I came out of the sexual closet to my very conservative bibliocentric and church going family, I was accepted quite well for being a gay man. However, when I come out of the political closet to my most of LGBT friends, I am usually ostracized and vehemently verbally attacked for having Republican or Conservative principles.

It really seems to be a double standard of non-inclusive non-acceptance for others who don’t believe in the political beliefs of the marjority within our LGBT community.

We need to continue to get the positive and liberating message out of the Republican Core Principles.

Jay

The whole day overall was very good and quite well planned overall.