- No VAT Tax!

And there was much rejoicing......

I have to admit, I’m fascinated by the stories no one tells. You know… the things that are in the script but no one ever spells out? What precisely was glowing in the briefcase from pulp fiction? What exactly was the source of Hattori Hanzo’s grudge in Kill Bill? There’s plenty of speculation so you can probably figure it out for yourself more or less. But they never definitively tell you for sure. To do so would be insulting, and make the story less memorable.

You may find this connection tenuous, but the absence of a VAT tax in the Fiscal Commission Report seems just like that to me. It was trial ballooned a few months back – no doubt by someone who would inevitably get back to the commission members on how it was received. There was nothing official, and the person who mentioned it would have no direct connection to the commission. It was never actually a part of what they were considering. Especially after how they saw it was viewed.

People went ballistic for a variety of justifiable reasons, myself included. I’m not saying I had anything to do with it’s elimination from the commission’s consideration. But I think all the people who caused an uproar over it when it was trial ballooned played a small role in coloring how it was taken. Had all the reporters, blogs and talking heads instead said:

“Wow!... what an inspired idea! Only someone as brilliant and thoughtful as Obama could come up with something that great! Thank god for President Obama and thank god for his VAT tax proposal!”

…then it’s exactly what we’d be getting right now.

But instead the mob said ‘We hate it! Only a deceitful villain could conceive of such a thing. It's obviously designed to steal candy from babies and to fund baby seal clubbing! If it's suggested as an option we'll tar and feather the suggester!” Or something to that effect anyway. I forget the exact words that were used. But whatever they were, it was certainly that reaction that prevented it's being adopted, and I was part of the mob that helped form that reaction … (644th row back, 28th guy from the right… the one with the pitchfork).

In the meantime though according to the offical script of what happened, the administration never officially asked for it, the commission never officially considered it, and it was never officially rejected. No harm and no foul. It was never really a problem at all according to the 'official' script. Just like the glowing briefcase, or Hattori Hanzo’s grudge – you have to figure out for yourself what really happened. But it's not hard to see.