“2) This country WILL go broke if we don’t get closer to a balanced budget.”
The country WILL go broke, because we will NEVER “get closer” to a balanced budget, given the current leftward tilt of the nation.
A VAT won’t help, for the very reasons others have given — that is, the more you give them, the more they will spend. They won’t make more than a token effort to slow the progress towards financial collapse.
The ONLY incentive for the DC politicians to repair things will be AFTER:
- the Social Security monthly deposits cease
- the EBT cards run dry
- the doctors and hospitals stop receiving Medicare and Medicaid payments they have billed
- government employees stop receiving payment for their work
- those in the military find they are no longer being paid.
When that happens, you will see a real attempt to fix things.
But not until...
“The ONLY incentive for the DC politicians to repair things will be AFTER:
- the Social Security monthly deposits cease
- the EBT cards run dry...”
You’re basically right. But a VAT is a good way to hit others across the face to get them to understand just what’s coming. Right now people think this can go on forever.