Alan Greenspan has offered a bogus solution to tax simplification and economic growth by proposing a national sales tax and a devious “value added tax,” or VAT. VAT taxes are imposed in Europe, New Zealand and Australia, and are despised by the people and manufacturers because they add paperwork, make everything more expensive, and do not add “value” to anything.
By taxing consumption rather than income, Bush and Greenspan want to protect their wealthy clan, while making ordinary people who struggle just to survive pay even more. People on fixed incomes, the retired and the disabled will pay more in taxes, while Bush, Cheney and Greenspan will pay far less as a percentage of their income. Consumption taxes are inherently regressive!
Consumption taxes hurt business because when consumers buy less, companies sell less, and this lowers profits. Greenspan says taxing consumption will “encourage saving and investment,” but if you can barely pay for your food, housing and health care now, how are you going to “save” if you have even less money in your wallet? All their proposal will do is lower the standard of living of the average American, while giving the rich extra money to invest in luxury items and the Asian stock market.

Christopher Calder
Eugene