It’s good that you are considering potential abuses with any new tax.
But you’re ignoring where we are on income taxes. We’re almost to the point that more than half of the population will pay NO income tax.
When we get to the point that more than half of the voters pay no income tax, then they will vote for anyone who wants more spending.
Cain does need to advertise his short term spending plans better, but getting more people to participate in the pains of paying taxes (thru a flat tax or a sales tax) is the best way to reduce spending in the long term.
I’m not ignoring that, I talked about it in post #10. That’s why I like replacing all other taxes with a sales tax in a single bill.
As for waiting for an amendment, that’s really an excuse for Congress to pass the buck. They pass said amendment, then it goes to the states, where 50 legislatures fight over it. Meanwhile Congress can go about business as usual, and say “Hey, it’s not our fault, we’re waiting for the States to act”. I think once it’s abolished public pressure would prevent them from passing a whole new income tax bill.