That old right-wing crackpot Alan Greenspan is talking about the benefits of a national sales tax.

For those not hip to this increasingly interesting idea, a national sales tax would place about a 20% tax on all goods and services (except for food and beverages), and eliminate personal and corporate income taxes. This way, you're only taxed for what you consume. Personally, I love this idea, but some contend that it would disproportionately tax those under the Poverty Line considering that their consumption rates can often be as high as the Middle Class.

One of the GOP Congressmen supporting the National Sales Tax is supporting a "pre-bate" system, were the poor are exempt from paying the tax, and would essentially get a check every month for the money they would otherwise be taxed.

This sounds confusing and bureaucratic, but it is nevertheless, a pretty original plan.

Perhaps the unseen advantage of a national sales tax is that with people being taxed on what they consume (in the retail sense), they'll be motivated to buy less and practice better self-control, becoming more responsible consumers.

On the other hand...

Usually when people get more money they spend more money. And really, if everyone became super responsible and started buying less with a national sales tax, well, there wouldn't be enough money going into the government in the first place. We'd then need...another tax!

It's all so complicated.