Forbes’s Janet Novack says “Forget the promises. The government will grab lots more of your money.”
One of the suggested solutions…a value-added tax. Hard to say whether or not a VAT would cripple an economy driven primarily by consumer spending, but that is certainly what folks start screaming whenever a VAT is mentioned. And, you don’t see significant personal savings in countries that employ VATs (or at least I don’t, so please enlighten me on success stories if there are any).
On a related note, Jerry Bowyer asks “What if Steve Forbes Had Won the Election?” (h/t Glenn Reynolds). Not sure I agree with Mr. Bowyer’s steadfast conclusions, but it would be interesting to see some well thought out pro-formas, looking back, under a flat tax.