Democrats are going to be in trouble on this consumption tax idea. I'm sitting in a cafe in Williamsburg Brooklyn and the 1st-wave hipsters (the ones who may actually be artists and have gotten their shit together to start a cafe, for instance) are lovin' it. "Gets rid of the IRS. Gets rid of accountants. They do it like that in Canada..." So they think.

The only counterarguments I've heard are hopelessly wonky and complex. I get why it's a bad idea. Here's what I would say.

• A consumption tax is regressive. Working people spend more of their income on "consumption" than the wealthy. Even with large exemptions, this will shift the burdin of taxes off of rich people who can afford to put their income in investments and onto middle class and blue collar people who put their income into clothes, food, car, and other products.
• Do you really trust George W. Bush and the Republicans to rewrite your tax code? Do you really think they will close all the corporate loopholes? Do you really think they're going to set up a system that's fair to working and middle-class people? They're a party of millionares who don't believe in social responsibility.

That's all I've got, and it's really not that good. Need graphs and shit to really sell it. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?