Steve Chapman on the Tax Reform Mirage

Tax reform is the new rage. It's not just the favorite idea on the campaign trail and think tank circuit these days. It's the glorious inevitability that will end the nation's fiscal crisis. Everyone is for it, and everybody agrees on what it involves. So it's clear where all this is leading. "Presidential Race Paves the Way for Tax Reform," read the headline in The Wall Street Journal. Washington insiders, writes Steve Chapman, think the stars are aligned to dramatically simplify the tax code and broaden the tax base.