Posted by
Bill Crawford on Saturday, April 10, 2010 8:59:35 PM
The VAT has been proposed here for years as an alternative to the income tax. Let us be clear here: the way it is being trial ballooned now is in addition to the income tax structure.
It is said that a 10% VAT would raise a trillion dollars a year for the federal budget. Obama is going to need the money. History has shown on almost every level that soaking the rich is a fool's game, because there aren't enough of them, and they more capable of positioning themselves for tax abatement.
Are we all clear on what "value added" means? Look at Europe. The tax (presently over 20% on most of the continent) is charged at evry pass of the creation of a good or service. If you buy a tire, it is passed on the raw material, the manufacturer, the deliverer and the dealer that installs them. Think of what kind of inflation that will cause.
And unless all these people are voted out soon, this will be dumped on us with another one of this President's 'aw shucks, I didn't have a choice' speeches.
It's your wallet, folks. In a land where we can't seem to float much below 10% unemployment, the IRS is now hiring and training thousands. Thousands. Margaret Thatcher once said that the problem with socialism is that eventually it runs out of other people's money.
It's obvious that nobody in this White House thinks they are near that point yet.