Sometimes our volunteers stumble by chance onto Congressional Candidates who support the FAIRtax. One such candidate is John Barker, running in the Republican Primary in the Second Congressional District of New Jersey at the state's southernmost tip. The Congressional seat is held by incumbent Congressman Jeff Van Drew, with whom we spoke nearly a year ago. We heard about John through longtime FAIRtax supporter Paul Zuzzio. Paul wrote us:

“.. not sure if you guys were involved with him, but the guy I talked to before I got switched to Smith's district looks to have jumped on board HR-25 with both feet. Out of our whole conversation, that seemed to be the part that he was most interested in, so here's wishing him success. Pity he got shifted to Van Drew instead of running against [Andy] Kim [Third Congressional District of New Jersey].”

Paul directed us to John Barker’s Issues page, and the FAIRtax was there in plain sight. Have a look:

https://johnbarkerforcongress.com/issues.html.

We caught up with John by phone and learned that he has been a political junkie for a long time. John thought his platform was to cut spending. But now that the current administration occupies the White House, his platform is everything. 

John is generally conservative but has a Libertarian bent. He argues strongly for personal freedom and advocates staying out of other people’s business as long as they are not bothering anybody.

Right now, John says, the government is not working well. John used to complain a lot, but now instead of shouting at the TV, he has decided to go beyond words and take action, noting that he’s not getting any younger.

This may be a good time for John to try. John is an X-ray technician by education and training, and had his own X-ray company. Now he is working for the people who bought his company and is winding down – unless he wins election to Congress. 

When asked how he came upon the FAIRtax and why he supports it, John replied that he received a call from a voter who stumbled onto his website. He does not say it was Paul Zuzzio, but maybe by coincidence, it was. In passing, the voter told him about HR25.

John has been a proponent of consumption taxes for years. He looked up the FAIRtax online and then contacted the bill’s sponsor, Buddy Carter, who represents Georgia’s First Congressional District.  After that, he really got excited.  He particularly likes the way the FAIRtax taxes the underground economy.  Currently, people working for cash under the table and those making their money by less than legal means are not filing tax returns and paying the income tax.  The FAIRtax turns those people into taxpayers.

John notes that it is hard to talk about an issue like the FAIRtax because it does not have the emotional appeal of other topics. He is trying to figure out how to bullet-point the FAIRtax. We suggested the “take back control” message. 

For over thirty years, John has been a resident of Bayville (Berkeley Township), New Jersey, where he and his wife raised their two children. John's son is a police officer, and his daughter just graduated from Kean University in Union, New Jersey. John is also had at least one active duty stint in the Global War on Terror.

John’s New Jersey Primary will take place on June 7, 2022. John will compete in a field of two other Republicans in New Jersey’s Second Congressional District, including the incumbent. One of the others had been briefed but has not taken a position on the FAIRtax. We have not reached out to the other yet.

We need people like John Barker in Congress to cosponsor the FAIRtax.

I’d love to hear if you know of any candidates running in your district who, you discovered, are FAIRtax supporters.


Take Back Control!

Jim Bennett