Good Idea

Instapundit from 2008 on shared sacrifice. This strikes me as a rather good idea:

Personally, I'd like to see everyone pay at least some income tax, and I'd like to see the amount of tax paid, by everyone, go up or down every year in tandem with federal spending. That would encourage fiscal discipline directly. It would also make it harder for politicians to promise everybody a free lunch, but hey -- why shouldn't they sacrifice something, too?

I can imagine a progressive tax system that still has these built in incentives. It makes sense, doesn't it? I suppose a lot of folks will argue it would be penny-wise, pound-foolish to pinch pennies during recession or other times of crisis, but the fact is, when you don't force responsibility on spending, there are always excuses to spend and not save, ie borrow. Which is how we get into major trouble.