There will be no VAT, it will be a career-ending move for any politician who supports it. We all can see how well the current VAT system in Europe is working, their current national debts vs GDP are worse than those we face in America. Greece is a primary example, VAT has done nothing to reduce debts, it has only encouraged governments to spend more.
Tsuwabaki, would you rather pay more in taxes for government services? Or would you rather pay less taxes so you could afford those services yourself, if and when you need them? For every $1 you pay in government taxes, you will be lucky if you collect 10 cents in benefits, whereas if you had your own money to spend, 100% of it would go toward your health care, retirement, or whatever. If you take it a step further, why collect any money at all for your work? Why not just give every penny you make to the government and collect whatever benefits they can afford to give you. You can be just as much a serf as those who existed in the middle ages.
The story about the fact that 1/2 of Americans pay no income tax is misleading. They still have taxes deducted from their pay each week, and the government earns interest on this money. They may end up paying no federal income tax after deductions and receiving their refund check, but they still pay for property tax, gas tax, utilities tax, sales tax, state income tax, and the usual registration and licensing fees. Any money that they don't spend in tax will be put back into the economy where a slice will eventually be taken by the federal government.
Obama will not be re-elected in 2012, and there will likely be a major shift in the elections in November. Rasmussen wasn't the only poll showing Obama's high disapproval ratings
RealClearPolitics - Election Other - President Obama Job Approval Any serious talk of VAT will be held off until after the November elections, by which point there will be no mandate to pass it. The next administration will have to begin thinking about austerity measures to reduce the debt, tax increases have never worked.