The American Spectator

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p> THE NEW THIRD RAIL br> Re: Peter Hannaford's The Road to Hell : /p> p>Peter Hannaford's piece on the President's Panel on Tax Reform bought tears of delight to my eyes. While I consider myself a C-Span fan, programs having to do with tax reform glue me to the screen. Why? Well, we all need some form of escapism, and if anyone doubts that ten years from now the IRS code will not have metastasized from nine million to fifteen million words I admit you have more faith than me. The modern flat tax is simply an economic version of a modern hunting rifle -- it enables those competing with the U.S. for monetary game to collect more in an efficient and fair manner. Instead of that, the Congress has elected to stick with the proverbial 19th-century flintlock, making changes to the lock mechanism, changing the size of the flint, the caliber of the ball, and manipulating the size and length of the barrel and stock in order to placate the whims of those who build and service the device. Meanwhile, our competitors bring home more game. Congress is too politically short-sighted and economically retarded to do anything more than tinker meaninglessly. The flat tax remains the third rail of 21st century tax reform -- still, if President Bush survived raising the subject about that other third rail, Social Security, perhaps all we need is time. br> -- Daniel Frater br> Kew Gardens, New York /p>

The current tax system is, as Mr. Hannaford pointed out, screwed up. The President's advisory panel on our tax problems is a corrupt group of panderers to accountants and power hungry politicians and bureaucrats. I can think of no other reason for their stance on tax reform. The Flat Tax would be a great improvement over our current system.

p>However, compared to the Fair Tax, the Flat Tax just plain sucks. The Flat Tax still gives the federal government my money before I get the chance to invest it. Even worse, the Flat Tax still gives the government information on how much I make and how. In light of the Supreme Court's decision on eminent domain, I don't want a group of bureaucrats so contemptuous of private property rights holding any information on my income. The Fair Tax does not give the government any information on me other than the number of dependents in my household. The Fair Tax allows me to invest my money before they confiscate it without me having to jump through hoops asking them to extend to me the favor of allowing me to invest some of it tax-free. Under the Fair Tax, I don't get taxed until I spend. To support the Flat Tax over the Fair Tax is to

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