So there’s this guy who is having trouble with his weight. What kind of friend would tell him about another all-you-can-eat buffet?
That’s the feeling I had earlier today when I discussed the VAT tax on New Hampshire Public Radio with Isabel Sawhill. Her argument is that government spends more than it takes in and there’s no way to close the gap by spending less–nobody wants to sacrifice. OK, I take that point. There are no principles that stop the government from letting some people live off of others. Why we should solve that problem by giving the glutton more access to food?
Of course it’s even worse than that. The government glutton actually ends up footing the bill. So he ends up obese and broke.
