Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee on Friday played a little bass guitar, talked about tax reform and urged supporters to get out to vote for him in Tuesday's presidential primary.
Advertisement
"Don't let anybody tell you it's over,” the former Arkansas governor said.
Huckabee, who won the Iowa caucus Jan. 3, made a swing through Oklahoma with stops in Oklahoma City and Tulsa.
He said Oklahoma is critical to his winning the nomination, adding that only about 8 percent of the delegate votes had been counted so far in the presidential primary race.
He was asked at a news conference what he meant recently when he said Republican Mitt Romney did not reach "political puberty until he was 60.”
Huckabee said he was referring to Romney's change of positions on some issues.
"I think you can't just have a change of opinion on fundamental issues over and over,” Huckabee said.
He said he believes the reason the country is off track is "we seem to forget who we are.”
America's tax system needs to be reformed, he said, adding he believes in the "fair tax,” which is a national sales tax.
"In today's economy, you're paying taxes for those who don't,” he said, explaining that tax system doesn't get the money made by illicit activities.
As he was ending his speech, he picked up a bass guitar and accompanied a Tulsa band, Ruby's Begonia, as it played "Steamroller Blues.”
The crowd loved it.
Thank you for joining our conversations on newsok. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.
Thank you Pawpaw for taking the time to post about your change of heart. That is rare indeed on the internet and I appreciate it.
I too wonder about those who fudge now. Maybe many are decent people, but just get frustrated at the complexity of the code so decide to take their chances and just chuck the whole mess into the trash. Anyway simpler is better.
If you really want to get excited about the possibilities of the FairTax I’d suggest reading a bit about Milton Friedman. Milton was probably the greatest economist of the last century. He evolved from a belief in Keynesian economics to a firm belief in Laissez-faire, the freest of free market economics.
Milton liked to use Hong Kong as a good example of Laissez-faire. That tiny overcrowded country with hardly any natural resources managed tremendous economic growth that improved the lives of millions of people.
The FairTax offers many of the benefits of Laissez-faire that should help our economy to grow, probably like never before. Conservatives should appreciate that and Liberals should appreciate it does so even keeping our large government and with the possibility of even higher revenues from the growth of the economy.
Anyway, the FairTax is a non-partisan proposal that should appeal to most everyone if they take the time to really learn about it.
Dan, I see your point. And perhaps even the "legal" citizens who "fudge" on their income taxes either in part or in whole would be more at risk to pay a "fair share" under this proposal as well. A interesting take on the Huckster's message. Thanks for taking the time to engage me in this attempt to understand.
Pawpaw,
The underground economy does get taxed more under the FairTax than with the current code. Illegal activity to illegal activity will not be affected of course. However you can assume most participate in these illegal activities to make a profit that they spend a good part of legally. A good example would be a drug dealer goes to a masseuse for a massage. With the current system the drug dealer pays no income taxes, but the masseuse does. With the FairTax the drug dealer pays taxes when he pays for the massage and the masseuse pay taxes when she spends her profit
Thanks for the reference material, Dan. I'm sure you are correct in your statement that the prostitutes and pimps will find a way to spend their profits and we can capture a national sales tax off that, and the marijuana sellers will have profits to spend on something we can tax under the fair tax umbrella. The odd thing is that the Huckster's claim that our tax system doesn't get the money made by the illicit activities then makes no sense at all, since the same people currently spend that money for things which are presently taxed. So he must have meant that the actual money made doing the illicit activity is what he wants taxed. Dan, since you are one of the few people on comment boards who operates on the premise that one should not underestimate another's intelligence but should not overestimate the level of their information, help me understand the Huckster's analysis in light of what we are talking about here. If he is correct that we are not taxing the actual activity, how does he propose to do that? If he is arguing that those who engage in the illicit activity do not spend their money in a manner than allows us to tax it currently, how does he prove that? Just as an aside, consider that the prostitutes buy marijuana and the marijuana sellers buy prostitutes, do they evade fair taxes?
It's far from over. The FairTax is gaining support rapidly and it's the only real meaningful change for all Americans that any candidate is talking about.
I am sure this man is a nice guy but he can't win, so he needs to step aside & let someone else have his votes that can actually beat Hillary. People you need to take a reality test here, it's sad but good guys don't always win & in this case I think it's impossible.
Pawpaw, people participate in illegal activities to make a profit. When they go spend that profit they pay the FairTax. I'd suggest reading a bit more about it at FairTax.org
Mike Huckabee is a man of character who shares the values Oklahomans cherish.
He's the only candidate who supports a human life amendment and a marriage amendment to the Constitution. Unlike the other candidates.....Huckabee has held these beliefs all his life.....not just since he started running for president. Mike Huckabee the inspiring leader this country so desperately needs at this time. Don't take my word for it......don't take the uninformed Paupau from Ardmore's word for it.......find out for yourself at www.MikeHuckabee.com
Okay, Huckster, just exactly how is it that a national sales tax captures taxes from illicit activities? Prostitution is an illicit activity; is there a flat sales tax on the product/service at point of issue? Oh yeah, if this is a joint return, does the wife have to read it before she signs it? Uhh, marijuana possession is illicit, so there will be a flat sales tax on something that you aren't allowed to possess? Just need to know how to report it and to whom, huh? There is a long list of questions here that need answering, between chords. And when you get to the bridge, how about hitting the high note and jumping off?
Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee told more than 600 supporters at Coach's Restaurant in Bricktown that when he was 8 years old, his father took him to see the governor of Arkansas.
His dad told him he might never again meet a governor.
"Little did he know that his son would become the 44th governor of the state of Arkansas. With your help Tuesday here in Oklahoma, I will be on my way to being the 44th president of the United States,” Huckabee said.
12
Prev
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
Thank you for joining our conversations on newsok. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.
Log in below or sign up (it's free).
I too wonder about those who fudge now. Maybe many are decent people, but just get frustrated at the complexity of the code so decide to take their chances and just chuck the whole mess into the trash. Anyway simpler is better.
If you really want to get excited about the possibilities of the FairTax I’d suggest reading a bit about Milton Friedman. Milton was probably the greatest economist of the last century. He evolved from a belief in Keynesian economics to a firm belief in Laissez-faire, the freest of free market economics.
Milton liked to use Hong Kong as a good example of Laissez-faire. That tiny overcrowded country with hardly any natural resources managed tremendous economic growth that improved the lives of millions of people.
The FairTax offers many of the benefits of Laissez-faire that should help our economy to grow, probably like never before. Conservatives should appreciate that and Liberals should appreciate it does so even keeping our large government and with the possibility of even higher revenues from the growth of the economy.
Anyway, the FairTax is a non-partisan proposal that should appeal to most everyone if they take the time to really learn about it.
The underground economy does get taxed more under the FairTax than with the current code. Illegal activity to illegal activity will not be affected of course. However you can assume most participate in these illegal activities to make a profit that they spend a good part of legally. A good example would be a drug dealer goes to a masseuse for a massage. With the current system the drug dealer pays no income taxes, but the masseuse does. With the FairTax the drug dealer pays taxes when he pays for the massage and the masseuse pay taxes when she spends her profit
He's the only candidate who supports a human life amendment and a marriage amendment to the Constitution. Unlike the other candidates.....Huckabee has held these beliefs all his life.....not just since he started running for president. Mike Huckabee the inspiring leader this country so desperately needs at this time. Don't take my word for it......don't take the uninformed Paupau from Ardmore's word for it.......find out for yourself at www.MikeHuckabee.com