But I thought taxes were supposed to go down???

Didn't the Big "O" promise that 95% of folks in the US would pay less in taxes??  How does a national sales tax keep that promise??

Once Considered Unthinkable, US Sales Tax Gets Fresh Look
Levy Viewed as Way to Reduce Deficits, Fund Health Reform

By Lori Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 27, 2009

With budget deficits soaring and President Obama pushing a trillion-dollar-plus expansion of health coverage, some Washington policymakers are taking a fresh look at a money-making idea long considered politically taboo: a national sales tax.

Common around the world, including in Europe, such a tax -- called a value-added tax, or VAT -- has not been seriously considered in the United States. But advocates say few other options can generate the kind of money the nation will need to avert fiscal calamity.

I love that last part (highlight and italic added by yours truly).  The fiscal calamity is not being CAUSED by the policies - it is the failure to PROVIDE money FOR the policies that is causing it.  I keep waiting for a glimmer of hope the the people of this country will wake up before it's to late.  I see nothing.