Obama and Huckabee on "Face the Nation"

We searched for a movie vigilantly that Sunday morning, but the fact that we only get 10 stations left us with sports, a Catholic church service, three infomercials (None of which involved food or I would have watched.), Sesame Street, and two talking head shows. We decided that the program most desirable of this collection was "Face the Nation". After all, I needed to bring myself up to speed on the upcoming primary. This week Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee were the candidates being interviewed.

There were a series of questions gently laid before Obama in a softball method. His first answer made me stop wrapping gifts and listen intently. It wasn't that I disagreed or agreed with him, it was that I didn't understand a damn thing he said and thought, perhaps I needed to listen more closely.

A second question, a slightly harder softball, but still soft with no substance was thrown at him. This time I listened intently. Words were indeed strung together as though they were a sentence, but their meaning was not clear. It was like listening to a foreign film where you have studied the words but have yet to understand the syntax of the speech. By the third question I looked at my life partner. He too, was staring at the screen with the same "deer in the headlight" look on his face. We both looked at each other and in unison asked the other "Do you know what he just said?" and then laughed. I was relieved to find that I hadn't suddenly developed ADD for he had no clue either. At that moment I decided that Obama definitely would not receive my vote.

Okay, to be honest, I really made that decision a long time ago, at age 13 when I declared myself a political conservative. I have since relaxed the stringent agendas of youth and searched for the candidate that has more liberal social ideals and stricter fiscal conservatism. Obama may have that but I will never know, because I just don't understand what the man is saying.

We sat in silence following the interview. Sure, I voted for Bush and he is an incredibly inept speaker, but I knew what he was saying. Even at his most bungling, I got the undercurrent of his speech. I wondered at that moment whether Obama might be related, even distantly, to the Miss Teen South Carolina. Although in Miss Teen South Carolina's defense, she is a 17-year-old girl with a "surprise" question and little time to develop in the area of public speaking. I'm certain that the only reason that Obama spoke as he did was his lack of a substantive platform or attempting to maintain appeal for all by not giving a direct answer.

I fell in love with Mike Huckabee as he said words that I understood. These were real words in real sentences to which I could relate. Perhaps the high contrast in presentation between the two candidates speech patterns drove me to the passion to cast my vote for Huckabee, maybe it was his cute anecdote about the bookcase "cross" in the background of his Christmas ad, or perhaps it was his National Sales Tax program.

I have always believed that a National Sales Tax should replace the present income tax. I have yet to actually work out the logistics and mathematics of the problem as I did with the conversion of Social Security to the private sector. About 17 years ago I calculated the math the conversion of Social Security from governmental sponsorship to private investments and sent the concept and plan outline to then President, Bush Sr. He never wrote back but didn't use it; since the plan that Jr. offered was not a duplicate of mine. Mine was better.

Hearing Huckabee espouse the sales tax, I resoundingly agreed with many points. Yes, it will encourage business. Yes, even illegal monies that are not reported will now be taxed. Yes, it will eliminate the need for a lot of paper work. Surely we have found the answer for the American people. After the program was over I felt confident that I had found the right candidate to vote for; that is until I began to research the actual proposal.

The first inkling that there was a fly in the ointment, occurred to me from nowhere, when I was riding a bus. What about charities? One of the reasons that most corporations donate is the tax write off. Now, advertisement plays a part, but it does not compare to the hefty benefit that is given as a write off. When Ted Turner announced that he was donating a billion dollars in stock to various organizations like UNICEF, he jokingly said that the tax would be too high to sell it and it would work out better to donate. He was most probably correct.

Will America reach into their pockets quickly when asked if there is no tax benefit? Perhaps we could offer additional estate tax credit for lifetime donations for an individual, but what can we add for the corporation, to increase their incentive to give. Fairtax.com states that giving is not driven by tax, but love. Damn, I am the cynic because I doubt that it is a true statement. Even if there were a poll taken, could we actually believe the answers? I would lie if I were asked and say, "Yes, of course I gave because I love my fellow man."

The Prebate is another questionable part of the program. The prebate looks at the income of the individual and gives a monthly stipend to offset the tax for those in the lower income bracket. Now, if the object of the sales tax is to reduce record keeping this is not the way to go about it. Someone has to verify income. What if the individual has several jobs? How is the government going to substantiate the income if there is no reporting? Why not omit the sales tax on groceries? I checked through the site Fairtax.com FAQ http://www.fairtax.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_faq_answers#1 and the only non-taxed items that I found were on used items. This stipulation would most likely cover the lower income in the area of transportation, since it is my guess that most don't get a new car, but generally buy a used one. Medicine and food were not included in the list.

The site offers the explanation that the wealthy spend more for unprepared food and medicine and so the tax would be disproportionately in favor of them if drugs and food were eliminated. Hello! Wake up! Seniors pay the most for medicines, and so if the tax was added to the already heavy burden, even a prebate wouldn't help. Would making food and medicine non-taxed actually skew the results that much? Our healthcare system is in deep trouble for the low income. This would add to the already perilous position and a prebate wouldn't be enough to cover the additional cost.

Flaw number three is the combination of the Social Security tax with the sales tax. We need to shift the monies from Social Security and Medicare to private enterprise and individual decision. While it is doubtful that this will ever happen, since the trust is invested in government I O U's called bonds and this allows Congress a certain amount of access. If you are interested in the process, stop at http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/ProgData/fundFAQ.html#n1 for more information on the Social Security Trust fund. It will scare the bejeebers out of you. But let's get back to the point; why not merge Social Security with a National Sales tax?

If there is ever to be reform in Social Security, it cannot be combined with a National Sales Tax. This would lock away any potential to remove it from the hands of the government. How would the Administration decide the amount of money to assign to each recipient? Suppose Bill Jones makes $100,000 per year but lives in a cardboard box, wears used clothing, drives a used car, and eats 99-cent TV dinners? Is it fair that he pays minimal amounts in, but collects the higher pension?

My heart is sad. The concept of a National Sales tax is good. The outline of the proposed plan sucks. (That is a technical term by the way.) So now, my friends, I must continue to look for the ideal candidate. Two down and a whole boatload to go before I find the right one. I still enjoy listening to Huckabee, I just cannot support the outline for the National Sales tax as it stands.

As for Obama? It's really tough to criticize a man's platform if you can't figure out what he's saying. HMMMMMMM. Now I get it.