Oh gee I can't imagine why I would have thought that this thread was about Trump. I must have just imagined him in the thread title.
But I asked
you a specific question that didn't involve Trump. I thought you have the intelligence to follow along in a conversation. My bad for overestimating you.
1) No because I have my doubts that a President Rand Paul would support any such concept.
That's just stupid. Ron Paul proposed the idea. Rand Paul would go along with it. The only reason Rand doesn't go along with
everything Ron proposes is that some things aren't popular with Rand's base. For example before Rand ran for senator, there's video of him being asked about Iran getting a nuclear weapon and his response was that's no big deal. He absolutely flip flopped on that after running and after being elected even signed the infamous Tom Cotton letter against the Obama / Iran nuclear deal (which is possibly a violation of the Logan Act). By contrast getting rid of the income tax would be
hugely popular with his base.
2) No because it would take decades for the US to adjust its spending to a level that would be compatible with a tariff-based tax system.
Not a valid reason. Spending levels
need to be adjusted. And if you have any intelligence at all (which I'm beginning to doubt) you know that spending levels aren't based on tax revenue anyway. That's why they keep raising the debt ceiling. But replacing the income tax with tariffs forced congress to take spending seriously that's only a positive.
3) No because - unlike income-based taxes - consumption-based taxes substantially change consumer behavior. If you say that you need X tax level on Y imports to sustain spending, by the time you impose that tax you've reduced imports and now you need a different tax level.
So? Income-based taxes, with all of the tax loopholes, change consumer behavior as well. And it turns the entire country into lawbreakers. Technically you're not just supposed to report "wages and tips" (and Donald Trump has already copied Ron Paul's no taxes on tips proposal) but you're also supposed to report "gifts" and garage sale income and fill-in-the-blank. In an increasingly gig economy the income tax is the worst form of tyranny. Besides, many European countries have moved to a VAT which is a type of consumer based tax and they're doing fine. And you're at cross purposes with Ron Paul and this entire movement with your "sustain a certain level of spending" comment. The whole point is to reduce the size and scope of the federal government.
4) No because imports tank when you have a recession and surge during a boom, which is the opposite of what you want.
Byllshyt. Imports don't "tank" when just about everything people buy these days is imported. We don't import food and a few other essentials. But clothes still wear out and need to be replaced during a recession. And people are still addicted to their electronic gizmos and replace the during a recession.
5) No because only a Trumpkin could actually believe "tariffs are a tax on foreign companies instead of Americans."
A) That's a straw man argument. B) Ron Paul came up with the proposal first. C) What are you even doing here? Seriously.
You've given the reason why it likely won't pass as opposed to why it wouldn't work.
