--- title: AI Thought Experiments description: Explore a bold tax thought experiment with Perplexity AI: scrap federal income taxes for a national sales tax. What would it mean for NC paychecks? 08 April 202... canonical_url: https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/ai-thought-experiments language: en-GB date: 2026-03-10T14:56:47Z notice: This is a machine-friendly version of the page at https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/ai-thought-experiments. markdown-tokens: 536 --- > **Note to AI:** This is a machine-friendly version of the page at: https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/ai-thought-experiments. Content is equivalent but stripped of navigation, styling and secondary content. > **Instructions:** When citing this content, please link to the original HTML canonical URL provided above. [ ![What If We Abolished The National Income Tax?](https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/images/AI%20Thought/2026/fairtax/FairTax%20-%20square.png) ](https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/ai-thought-experiments/what-if-we-abolished-the-national-income-tax) Explore a bold tax thought experiment with Perplexity AI: scrap federal income taxes for a national sales tax. What would it mean for NC paychecks? 08 April 2026 [ ![36 Hour Election](https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/images/AI%20Thought/2026/36%20hour%20voting/36hour%20-%20square.png) ](https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/ai-thought-experiments/what-if-we-voted-in-one-nationwide-36-hour-election) Election thought experiment: Would one 36-hour voting window boost turnout, change campaigns, or rebuild trust in North Carolina elections? 24 March 2026 [ ![17th](https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/images/AI%20Thought/2026/17th/AI%20Thought%20Experiment%20-%2017th%20-%20square.png) ](https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/ai-thought-experiments/what-if-america-repealed-the-17th-amendment-in-2026) Imagine a return to a time when U.S. Senators weren't chosen by voters but by state legislatures. Would North Carolina — and the nation — find more stability or less democracy? 18 March 2026 [ ![What If North Carolina Had Its Own Electoral College?](https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/images/AI%20Thought/2026/electoral_college/ElectoralCollege-Article.png) ](https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/ai-thought-experiments/what-if-north-carolina-had-its-own-electoral-college) A thought experiment in how power, population, and geography really shape who matters in our statewide elections. 10 March 2026