David Scott, Democratic Representative from
I went to the meeting with a few ideas in my head of what I might face. I expected a very high percentage of Democrats at the meeting, and I wasn’t disappointed in that regards. I also expected a lot of talk about
The meeting was very heavily Democratic in its turn out. The Representative spent a few minutes welcoming everyone to the meeting and then opened the floor for questions. I grouped the number of questions into a few very broad categories below:
| Topic | Number of Questions |
| Healthcare | 4 |
| Taxes | 4 |
| | 4 |
| | 2 |
| Illegal Immigration | 2 |
| Others | 11 |
The eleven questions on “other” topics were so diverse I couldn’t group them into any unifying topic. The number of questions is also not directly related to the amount of time spent on each topic. The Representative spent the vast majority of his time talking about the Fair Tax Act (HR 25) and Illegal Immigration. There was actually only a little time spent on the war in
Representative Scott is a supporter of the Fair Tax Act. He stated he is working on getting the bill a hearing in Congress so that some of the fine points of the bill could be worked out. Mr. Scott believes that our tax system is incredibly flawed and must be replaced. As I said, most of the people at this meeting were Democrats, but a lot of them were talking about the Fair Tax Act as well. A lot of the questions would end with something along the lines of, “…and I am also a supporter of the Fair Tax.” At one point Rep. Scott stopped the discussion and said that he can’t do a town hall meeting without talking about the Fair Tax Act.
Mr. Scott also wants to control Illegal Immigration by immediately moving 25,000 troops to the borders. Once the borders are secure he would next go after businesses that employ illegal immigrants.
I would encourage anyone reading this article to get in touch with your representative regardless of their political party. While you may not agree with your elected official, they are still there to represent you. The one thing I took from this meeting is that many of my neighbors feel the same way I do, even with a Democratic Representative.
2 comments:
After researching the "Fair Tax Act" I have found several problems with such an act. First, with such a high sales tax it will become profitable for people to begin smuggling goods into the United States. Second, people will be further encouraged to travel to a foreign country before buying an expensive item which will hurt American businesses. Third, the way taxes should be designed is not only a way to raise revenue but a way to encourage or discourage behavior. (example, tax credits for less polluting vehicles and extra taxes for cigarettes). While the tax system does need to be changed due to the AMT catching more and more middle class people, this national sales tax is not the best solution.
Acie, glad to see you!
I appreciate the comment. If the Fair Tax is enacted, there will be a 23% (or about) sales tax added to new goods. The Fair Tax will also remove imbedded taxes we currently pay on items. Most economic models forecast that after the imbedded taxes are removed, there will be a net increase of approximately 1% above what we pay right now for a good. If this is true, and based on the examples in the Fair Tax book I believe it would be, then the complaints you make wouldn’t hold up. There would be no need to smuggle things in and out of the country for a 1% increase in price.
Hope to see more post on here from you.
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