The Grassroots Corner July 17 2020

Getting Volunteers Up To Speed

You find a Volunteer who is motivated, passionate about The FAIRtax, and is ready to get to work spreading The FAIRtax message.  They gather people together.  The gatherings are exuberant, and ideas bubble up like the springs at Yellowstone Park.

Yet how good is your Volunteer’s technical knowledge of The FAIRtax?  How much does it matter?

Indeed, when we manage Volunteers, we want to do as little as possible to curb their enthusiasm.  Making a Volunteer study a 200-page FAIRtax textbook (if there were such a thing) and pass an exam would turn them off faster than you can say “FAIRtax”.

Unlike movements with high emotional components, ours requires a solid understanding of the subject matter.  You don’t have to be an expert on every intricate detail, but an effective FAIRtax Volunteer MUST have a good grasp on the fundamentals.  Recognizing we are all prone to error, we must insure as best we can the information our Volunteers give to the public is accurate and reliable.

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Volunteers can put out inaccurate information without realizing it because humans, understandably, sometimes think they know more about a subject than they actually do.  So here we lay down our 3 simple rules:

🇺🇸   Keep the communication about The FAIRtax single-issue, i.e., about The FAIRtax and only about The FAIRtax
🇺🇸  Keep the communication about The FAIRtax nonpartisan.  We cannot support or oppose political candidates or parties.  But we may educate the public about where candidates stand on The FAIRtax
🇺🇸  If you aren’t sure of an answer, please don’t guess.  Contact one of us on The Board or contact one of the State Leaders

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So now with the rules established, where do we start with a new Volunteer?  On www.FAIRtax.org under the Menu “How it Works”, click "Whiteboard Video" to access these 2 brief videos.

“FAIRtax, What is It?” packs 9 critical points into 1 minute 10 seconds:

1.  FAIRtax is a REPLACEMENT plan
2.  FAIRtax is a CONSUMPTION tax
3.  FAIRtax taxes consumption ABOVE THE POVERTY LEVEL
4.  FAIRtax has NO EXCEPTIONS
5.  FAIRtax is PROGRESSIVE due to the PREBATE
6.  FAIRtax is collected by RETAIL BUSINESSES and is MORE ACCOUNTABLE
7.  The IRS goes away
8.  YOU have control over your money and the overall tax rate YOU pay
9.  FAIRtax is REVENUE NEUTRAL

The 2nd Whiteboard Video explains how the Prebate works and why it makes The FAIRtax fair.  This whiteboard animation goes for 1 minute 30 seconds.

We think our website is good at giving visitors information no deeper than one layer down.  We are working on improving the functionality of searches.  Please let me know if you have any suggestions for making our website better.

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Once they feel comfortable with the information presented they can surf the website for additional information.  For example, "The FAIRtax Toolbox", under the “Get Involved” Menu, offers several resources.  One is Dr. Karen Walby's 11-page "FAIRtax Fundamentals".

The Toolbox also has a link to Congress.gov which provides information about The FAIRtax bill, including the bill text and co-sponsors.

We are thinking of putting the Plain English Summary of The FAIRtax on the website.  The Plain English Summary is easy to read and reduces 130 pages of bill text down to 37 pages of summary.

The economic side of The FAIRtax also demands the Volunteer’s attention.  The “Research” Menu offers information for a dozen different categories related to The FAIRtax.

What are your ideas for getting a new Volunteer – or yourself - up to speed on The FAIRtax?

Yours In Liberty!

Jim Bennett
AFFT Grassroots Coordinator & Secretary

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🇺🇸   We’ve Got You Covered If You Let Us Know - If you are planning an event, we have event insurance coverage available for you.  Email me the "who-what-where-when" and I will obtain for you a COI.  Once the event is underway, it’s too late.

🇺🇸   Call For Pictures & WriteUps - When others see your activity, they are inspired, the process snowballs and Representatives, Senators and, yes, even The President start to listen to you and I.

🇺🇸   The FAIRtax Logo Store - Order your promotional material from the Store by clicking here

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