I agree that sunset of the Sixteenth Amendment is desirable, and would tend to put downward pressure on the federal Leviathan. Getting it done seems a long shot, but . . .Repeal of the Seventeenth Amendment seems especially unlikely to pass. If we cant get that, I suggest two possible alternatives. One would be to make Senators running mates of governors - so the heaping of responsibility onto the states would at least have an effect on the political viability of the governor who is the running mate of the Senator.
The other would be to make the election for senator be from a ballot established by the legislature - there would only be two candidates for senator, no third party candidates. And, each legislator would only vote for one candidate. Therefore, the majority party would name a candidate and the minority party would name a candidate. The people of the state would still elect, but the winning senator would still be beholden to the Legislature for future renomination.
Article V ping.
And now there are 10: AL, AK, AZ, FL, GA, IN, LA, ND, OK, TN.
10 down, 24 to go.