Bruce Bartlett

Bartlett Cleland of the Institute for Policy Innovation writes: The VAT is attractive to those who…[w]ant to grow government… Whether or not those proposing such taxes are interested in expanding the scope of government is almost irrelevant, because once the tools for such expansion are in place they can be used by future politicians to grow government subtly.  Similarly, whether a tax is labeled as a VAT or not is also irrelevant if the function is the same—for example by not allowing companies to deduct wages.

An examination of the total liability of the U.S. government, including the national debt, but also including credit and insurance programs, and the actuarial liabilities of the Social Security system and federal employee pension programs.