Town Hall with Sam Graves

Yesterday, I went to an outdoor town hall to hear my congressman, Sam Graves, speak. There were around 250 people there and the topic was centered on tax reform. He talked about the unfairness of the estate tax being a double tax after having the money already taxed at the time it was earned. He also mentioned the Fair Tax which seems to be gaining some support in congress. The fair tax is a concept of abolishing the current income tax system and instead using a national sales tax. This would allow people to choose when to pay tax by when they choose to purchase things. There are also provisions that would make necessities like food effectively non-taxable. He also talked about making the tax system less onerous on small businesses and the fact that the government by and large does not create jobs but rather small businesses create jobs.

A lot of times I don't entirely agree with a politician but through responses to emails I've written him and along with hearing him in person, I found that his philosophies match up with mine, at least fiscally. It was nice to see an actual member of congress in person and get the sense that he is really working to make a difference in the federal government.