Will the VAT Lady Sing? If so, it's over for America.

A cultural battle is under way in America, a battle between, in columnist Michael Barone's, words, "the culture of dependence and the culture of independence."

The culture of dependence is the belief by American liberalism that government can make better decisions for people than people can make for themselves. The U.S. has now created the largest government spending increases, takeovers, and regulation expansion in the past 65 years, since the end of World War II. It is going to get even worse, as the President's budget plans to spend $45 trillion in the next 10 years, a 70% increase in spending over the last 10. Estimated tax revenues will only be $35 trillion--or maybe even less if the current economic difficulty lasts for a while. The Tax Foundation estimates that we would have to more than double current income tax rates for everyone to balance the 2010 budget, or increase the rates by 50% or more to balance the budgets over the next 10 years.

To put America's new spending policy into perspective, the Heritage Foundation's Brian Riedl reports that federal spending in the 1980s and 1990s remained flat--about $21,000 per household. During George W. Bush's administration, the figure rose to $25,000 per household, and President Obama's budget plans to spend $32,000 per household by 2019. And that number is before all the baby-boomers retire and another $10,000 or so in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid costs will be spent in addition.

it is a sales tax.

it requires MANDATORY registration to establish you do or do not pay the tax.

IT HAS A NEW WELFARE CHECK called the prebate.

just another kooky scam.

VAT is built into the price of anything and everything, and it is usually in layers, added at every step of the process.

The beauty of it is that it is hidden from view. You can increase taxes and people will curse the greedy businessman who sells it to you.

The Flat Tax is more of the same as we have currently. It maintains the IRS and it's court system that considers a person guilty until proven innocent. It would still give the government power to tax the people at the former's discretion before people see their paycheck. It would still require people to fill out tax forms.

Moreover the existing income tax code began as a flat tax when 16th amendment was enacted in 1913. People were taxed 1% on their first $20,000 of income and 7% on income over $500,000. Less than 1% of the population earned more than $500,000 in 1913 consequently more than 99% were subjected to the one tiered tax of 1%. Another flat tax on income will evolve back into the same multi tiered, intrusive, convoluted mess we have today only faster thanks to the thousands of lobbyists today that didn't exist in 1913. There is a reason Karl Marc included a heavy progressive tax on income as a plank in his Communist Manifesto. He understood increasing the tax burden on one's productivity will eventually discourage people from being productive and working. They will then become dependent on the state for their existence. Another flat tax on income will only keep the Communist style tax in existence.

Contrast that with a consumption style tax that shifts the power to tax away from Congress and towards the people since they will only be taxed when they decide to make purchases. The IRS and all it's intrusion to people's lives goes away. There will be no forms to fill out and we are free from a communist style tax code we've had for the last 97 years. April 15th becomes just another day.

Obozo de Klown is the most dangerous President (faux) that this country has ever had.

IF the Congross tries to pass a VAT, we will have to storm the Capital and hold them hostage. It will have to come to that. Imagine the media coverage if 10,000 Patriots stormed the House Chamber?!

We The People are coming for you!

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