Gimmick / trial balloon du jour

So, the Bushies are sending up a trial balloon this week. In a new book by Speaker Denny Hastert, he advocates eliminating the IRS and replacing it with a flat tax, a national sales tax, or a VAT. I'm sure places like New Hampshire that have no sales tax are really psyched about this idea. I'm sure you and I just can't wait to add an additional 10% sales tax to the 8.25 we already pay to Albany and Erie County. (I'll do all my shopping in Canada, where at least I can get my GST back). A modified flat tax I'd actually support, provided that the poorest Americans were exempted, and those making over 1,000,000 paid a little extra. I wouldn't mind being able to file my return on a post card, as Steve Forbes famously promised in 2000.