« Keith Olbermann's Worst Nightmare | Main | Just In Case You Missed All That Kerfuffle Last Weekend »

March 26, 2010

America Dragged Kicking and Screaming to the VAT

Posted by The MaryHunter at March 26, 2010 4:15 PM

Charles Krauthammer discusses ObamaCare's next trick.

We are now $8 trillion in debt. The Congressional Budget Office projects that $12 trillion will be added over the next decade. Obamacare, when stripped of its budgetary gimmicks -- the unfunded $200 billion-plus "doctor fix," the double counting of Medicare cuts, the 10-6 sleight-of-hand (counting 10 years of revenue and only six years of outflows) -- is at minimum a $2 trillion new entitlement.

This is a fiscally disastrous path, since out-of-control health care costs now will paid for under ObamaCare -- which did absolutely nothing to address the costs issue itself. Where will this lead us? Inevitably, to the VAT - both literally and figuratively.

The ultimate cash cow, value-added taxes have been used to feed welfare states worldwide. The European Union nations have enormous VATs: Germany: 19%, France and Italy: 20% percent, Scandinavian countries: 25%.

Obama set out to be a consequential president, on the order of Ronald Reagan. With the VAT, Obama's triumph will be complete. He will have succeeded in reversing Reaganism. Liberals have long complained that Reagan's strategy was to starve the (governmental) beast in order to shrink it: First, cut taxes -- then ultimately you have to reduce government spending.

Obama's strategy is exactly the opposite: Expand the beast and then feed it.

Surprise surprise, this was part of Chairman Zero's nefarious, free-market-hating plan from the start.