I was out of town when it was originally posted, and just now caught this gem from Neal’s Nuze on September 28th:
Last night as I pulled into a parking lot outside of Turner Field (the home of the Division Champion Atlanta Braves!) the parking lot attendant told me “It looks like Katrina and Rita knocked the FairTax right out of the news!”
Well, he’s partially right. The initial four-week book tour ended with Belinda, Royal, Net Dog and I escaping New Orleans just 18 hours before Katrina rolled in. At that time The FairTax Book was No. 1 on the New York Times Bestseller’s list. We’re still up there, but with the minds of the people justifiably on the damage done by these two hurricanes, we’ve slipped out of the top spot.
I say the parking lot attendant was partially right because the FairTax is still very much on the minds of people in Washington. Specifically, it’s on the mind of the lobbyists on K Street. As we told you in The FairTax Book, these K Street lobbyists make their livings by manipulating the federal tax code for the benefit of their clients. And a handsome living it is. These lobbyists make in the hundreds of thousands of dollars — sometimes over a million dollars — a year! Make no mistake, the FairTax is a threat to them and their high paid livelihood!
These are people who’s very lifestyle and business success depends on their ability to keep their fingers on the pulse of the Congress, and when congressmen and senators start getting calls, letters, faxes and emails from thousands of constituents, the lobbyists know it, and it’s not something they’re going to ignore.
Trust us on this … these lobbyists are not on your side in the cause of tax reform. They’re on their side … and their side only. Their jobs and their incomes must be protected, and if it means that you must continue to live under an oppressive tax system that stifles innovation, hard work and economic growth, so be it.
Yesterday we received an email from a listener with close connections to a congressional sponsor of the FairTax. According to our listener this congressman is relating stories about K Street denizens getting the word to various congressional and senatorial offices that if they dare support the FairTax bill they can kiss some big campaign contributions goodbye. So … it would seem that the pressure is on.
Those of you who have read The FairTax Book and have come to support this incredible idea for tax reform have sworn enemies in the law offices along K Street in Washington. The lobbyists are fighting for their very lifestyles, and they won’t go away. So, if you go away, if you stop spreading the word about the FairTax, if you stop contacting your elected representatives and holding their feet to the fire … the K Streeters will have won.
Last night my co-author, Congressman John Linder and I, discussed the growing unrest on K Street. We realize that one of the best ways to keep this FairTax idea in front of the media and in front of elected officials is to keep the book alive and as high up the bestseller’s lists as possible. That’s why both Congressman Linder and myself are hitting the book-signing highway again. In coming weeks we’ll be in places like Denver, Grand Junction, Indianapolis, Lexington, Knoxville, Orlando, Atlanta, Oklahoma City and more.
In addition to getting out there and pushing the book, Congressman Linder has agreed to another idea. Congressman Linder and I are going to take every penny we make in royalties from the sale of the book over the next two weeks and dedicate those royalties to hurricane relief. Every cent. We’re doing this because we want to start The FairTax Book moving up in the charts again … and we want to be able to do that without making it sound self-serving.
Neither one of us wrote this book to make money. The royalties I receive are all — 100% — going to charity. We wrote the book because we believe that the FairTax would be nothing less than a second American revolution; the largest transfer of power from government to the people since the Revolutionary War.
If you’re behind this idea, go buy another copy of the book. If you like you can make it easy on yourself and order it from Amazon.com. On Monday we were No. 113 on Amazon.com. Yesterday we were No. 115. We would like to see how far we can move this book up today … with all of the royalties going to Katrina and Rita relief. You can also go to FairTax.org and become a FairTax volunteer.
This idea is too good to be blown away by a hurricane. Do what you can.