“The deficit problem is excessive spending…”

In Politico on Wednesday, August 30th, former Congressional Budget Office director Douglas Holtz-Eakin and Cameron Smith wrote the following about a Value Added Tax (VAT):

“The deficit problem is excessive spending — not inadequate revenues. In 2010, outlays are projected to be 25.2 percent of gross domestic product — about $1.2 trillion higher than the typical 20 percent of GDP in the postwar era. Coincidentally, that’s about the size of the projected deficit in 2020.

Adopting a VAT could add insult to injury and exacerbate the spending problem. Raising taxes of any sort might relieve Congress of financial market pressure to get its house in order. Unfortunately, this would quickly be undone because of rising federal spending.”

Read the whole thing here.

Read the original story at Defeat the Debt