Charles Krauthammer warns viewers of Bill O’Reilly that the passage of ObamaCare will lead to the value-added tax, or VAT. The Europeans have it, in part to fund the national nanny states, and the US will need it to create the “river of revenue” that ObamaCare will require. Meanwhile, Krauthammer — a physician himself — also warns that the Obama administration doesn’t need a public option, as the insurance companies will become arms of the government, just like public utilities (via Greg Hengler):

We’ve seen the VAT debate during the ObamaCare push, starting with Nancy Pelosi’s proposal in October. At that time, Dan Mitchell of the Cato Institute gave a primer on VAT:

The VAT would be great news for the political insiders and belteway elite. A  brand new source of revenue would mean more money for them to spend and a new set of  loopholes to swap for campaign cash and lobbying fees.  But as I explain in this new video from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity,  the evidence from Europe unambiguously suggests that a VAT will dramatically increase the burden of government.  That’s good for Washington, but bad for America.

It’s worth noting that even if the politicians are unsuccessful in their campaign to take over the health care system, there will be a VAT fight at some point in the next few years. This will be a Armageddon moment for proponents of limited government. Defeating a VAT is not a sufficient condition for controlling the size of government, but it surely is a necessary condition.

That didn’t keep the New York Times from pushing a VAT in December.  Krauthammer’s right; as soon as the predicted budget surpluses turn into huge deficits, Democrats will try to stem the tide not by undoing ObamaCare but by imposing onerous consumption taxes on Americans.  That will slow the economy, which will make the ObamaCare deficits even worse, and will continue a cycle of stagnation.

Be prepared.  Start learning about the VAT now in order to stop it later.