Hank Johnson's March 31, 2007 Town Hall meeting at the Tucker
High School. The following are observations and notes:

Total attendance ~50 persons

One of the two primary issues raised from the floor wasThe FairTax

Five or six attendees addressed Rep. Johnson and the audience in
favor of the FairTax. Most statements resulted in clapping of support by 2/3 of the audience.

Before the meeting, I was able to talk with Darake (Dok) Satcher,
Representative Johnson's Chief of Staff. From that conversation and
based on Rep. Johnson's responses to the FairTax questions, I believe
the following to be true:

Neither Rep. Johnson nor his chief of staff has read The FairTax Book.

Hank Johnson thinks that income is a more stable base for determining
taxes rather than consumption. The data show that the opposite is true.

Johnson thinks that administering the prebate would be extremely expensive
and complex. Someone should have mentioned that the SS Administration
does it every month, and that credit card companies have indicated a willingness to pay the government to do it.

He feels that the FairTax would be bad for the poor and good for the
rich.

He hinted at the existence of "bipartisan issues" with the FairTax, but he did not elaborate.

He indicated, without giving names, that a number of "influential" individuals feel that it would not be a good solution.

He stated that the FairTaxers in the audence would "not convince me"
to sign on; he expressed a need to hear the other side's arguments and
then he would act.

In summary, it is clear that he views this as a "someone has to win and someone has to lose" type of issue. Must be the mind set in D.C. these days...

He prefers to use campaign finance reform to control lobbyists' influence instead of the FairTax.

He is not going to advocate for the FairTax. When it becomes an issue in the House, he will address it.

By the time the fifth FairTax speaker addressed this audience, Rep. Johnson was starting to show some mild frustration.

He did, in response to one non FairTax question, come across as someone that believed in the basic freedoms of this country and in the value of the free enterprise system. There may be hope.


C. Tom Brown, Ph.D.