I love the smell of VAT in the morningIt smells like … justice

"VAT did you say? Bring it!"     h/t Theo

Related Link » Obama's next act
“I have a warning for Republicans: Don't underestimate Barack Obama. […] Obama's most far-reaching accomplishment is his structural alteration of the U.S. budget. The stimulus, the vast expansion of domestic spending, the creation of ruinous deficits as far as the eye can see are not easily reversed. These are not mere temporary countercyclical measures. They are structural deficits because, as everyone from Obama on down admits, the real money is in entitlements, most specifically Medicare and Medicaid. But Obamacare freezes these out as a source of debt reduction. Obamacare's $500 billion in Medicare cuts and $600 billion in tax increases are siphoned away for a new entitlement [Obamacare] -- and no longer available for deficit reduction. The result? There just isn't enough to cut elsewhere to prevent national insolvency. That will require massive tax increases -- most likely a European-style value-added tax [VAT]. Just as President Ronald Reagan cut taxes to starve the federal government and prevent massive growth in spending, Obama's wild spending -- and quarantining health-care costs from providing possible relief -- will necessitate huge tax increases.” [emphasis and bracketed comments added]
— By Charles Krauthammer, July 16, 2010 (WaPo)

Once again Charles Germanicus-Martel is ahead of the curve. I think he has finally found the missing pieces to The Puzzle, AKA iPOTUS. The Obama is not just a self-aggrandizing narcissist. That's not even close to defining The Enigma: He is the craftiest snake-oil salesman evah. He not only permanently overhauled the U.S. budget; he announced his intentions to do so way in advance. And the suckers went for it hook, line, and sinker.

VAT did you say? Well, I say, "Bring it!" A VAT has the potential to fund all of Congress’s pet projects, such as cap-and-trade, renewable energy, electric cars, high speed rail, and, of course, health care. And no one expects that the initial single-digit "introductory offer" percentage will hold for long. But I still say, "Bring it!", because a VAT is regressive. In terms of individual income and wealth, a regressive tax imposes a greater burden (relative to resources) on the freeloaders than on the earners — there is an inverse relationship between the tax rate and the taxpayer's ability to pay as measured by assets, consumption, or income.

So here, at long last, is where The Wily Obama has painted Himself into a corner. The VAT will reverse the number-one goal of His Socialist agenda: progressive wealth redistribution. And His freeloading idolaters will be stuck holding the bag. Moreover, that bag will not contain free lunch, but rather, a hefty bill for lunch that is costly.

Post #1,355 I love the smell of VAT in the morning
It smells like … justice