Yes, the method we use to collect revenue does indeed impact on tax policy. When we ALL feel the pain, we ALL want to minimize it. I have been using this argument for 14 years. I'm glad someone else said it out loud. All other things equal, the broader the base, the less appetite there is in DC to increase taxes.
The broadest possible base is all consumers - whether tourists, criminals, illegals, etc - is a national retail sales tax. In such a case, not only does every single voter feel the bite of the federal spending beast - so does every single consumer.
'Course there's a side benefit of border adjustability but that's another thread!
“is a national retail sales tax”
Yes, consumption-based taxation would be objectively fair. And would restrain spending. Certainly Hamilton sold that concept in the Federalist bible.
As opposed to the wildly fluctuating subjective ‘fairness’ of the progressive income tax.
There are many tax reform ideas floating about. That’s a good thing. I, for one, would prefer a big switch to sales-tax, amend away the income tax and all that.
But, just like with candidates, I’m not waiting for the perfect one to save us. If folks have doable reforms in mind that bring us closer to objective taxation, I’m all for it.
One thing we could do without need for amendments and such is to flatten and broaden the income tax and eliminate the corporate tax completely. Redistributionists would cry us river, but sympathy would soon be lost in a flood of jobs.
Facism: when leftists decide that previously too-big-to-be-fair ‘monopolistic’ corporations somehow become too-big-to-fail.