David Fairchild, Bible college student, Kirkland

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"Basically, from what I know about it, I'd be more pleased with the tax we have right now. I'm a college student and am more concerned with my schoolwork than with following politics. I work and don't get any grants or scholarships and I rely heavily on loans. Off the top of my head, I'm pretty happy with the way things are going... The people who get elected are supposed to deal with that... But I think there needs to be more money for college students -- we need to straighten out our priorities. I think they should spend less on things they don't need, like travelling..."

Pat Nelson, Homemaker and Bible teacher, Kirkland

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"Yes, I would. One of the ways they could cut the cost of government would be to cut the IRS staff way back -- as far as I know, that's not been promoted... They say that a flat tax will cut things back and make things simple but increase taxes on low- and middle-income people. I'm not sure if that's correct, but we have to start somewhere... The media focuses on a possible shortfall in revenues -- well, maybe we should cut back on the size of the government. The biggest concern I have is getting the deficit cleaned up. We have to live on a budget on our own lives, and we can't allow the government spending to continue -- you serve who you borrow from."

Harvey Cohen, Retired, Kirkland

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"No. I just think that it's unfair to the majority of people because the super-rich are going to benefit the most and middle class and lower income people are going to benefit the least... I think there should be a lot of corrections -- there are too many loopholes. But fixing the system would be better than scrapping it. We need a complete review of the current system..."

Crystal Eppinger, Looking for work, Redmond

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"My parents have been talking about taxes -- I should have been listening... As far as job opportunities, the flat rate doesn't sound as good. I didn't pay attention to it before I started applying for jobs. I haven't been watching TV, but it's been a big discussion at our dinner table... I think people don't want large taxes taken out of small paychecks."

Janice Armstrong, Retired educator, Redmond

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"I've been following it on TV the last couple of days -- I've heard the politicians... Gephardt claims that the rich will benefit and that a couple making over $200 thousand would benefit greatly, where someone in the $50 thousand-or-lower category would not. They also had Lugar and Forbes and two or three others and unfortunately, I didn't stay tuned in... This comes up every three or four years and I think it's something that has possibilities if it can be made fair... I would appreciate a simpler filing system -- I want the simplest way of filing taxes possible, but the most equitable, too."

Dick Armstrong, Retired, Redmond

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"Yes. It's simple. It's fair and simple. Obviously, we don't know what the rate is, but it seems it will save the government money not having to check all the deductions... I'm not sure we'll have less revenue -- if you put money in the hands of the people, they'll spend it. And if you make more, you'll pay more... I read this morning in "Reader's Digest" that 39 percent of our income is spent on taxes... Over 1,000 people from all walks of life thought 25 percent would be fair. The article also pointed out that there's a lot of dissatisfaction with how government spends money... I just like the simplicity of a flat tax. And the idea of knowing exactly what you'll spend is appealing, assuming that there's a fair rate... The challenge is to sell people on the concept. The rate becomes part of the negotiations."

Copyright © 1996 by the Bellevue, WA-based Journal American newspaper.

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