Moving forward: signs of repentance

Two weeks ago tomorrow, I wrote:

The "rift" is all of Bush's making. He can fix it. He can:

1. Withdraw the nomination
2. If he won't do that, then allow Miers to speak openly and broadly about her judicial philosophy at her hearings or sooner. There's no reason she can't explain what her approach will be without prejudicing future decisions. If she doesn't have a judicial philosophy, he should go back to #1.
3. Repent. Take conservative stands on immigration, spending, racial preferences, etc. Show his faith through his works. In other words, build some trust.
4. Disown the stupid sexism and elitism charges leveled by his surrogates (including his wife) against opponents of the nomination.

Let's see what we've got:

1. Check
2. See number 1
3. Well, maybe we've got a start here and maybe here.
4. Not holding my breath.

It's a start. We've also got the report from the Tax Reform Commission. It's not all I wish it was, but it's better than I had feared:

The president's tax reform panel, headed by former Sens. Connie Mack and John Breaux, is set to propose two interesting plans. Plan A is a simplified income tax. Plan B is a more radical consumption-based tax. Both plans have features that would reduce tax code complexity and promote growth. However, the plans are missing a crucial element of supply side tax reform: substantial rate cuts.

First, the good news. Plan A would simplify the income tax by consolidating savings incentives and ending itemized deductions. Businesses would get simplified rules for depreciation and foreign earnings. The plan would boost growth by ending the double taxation of dividends and allowing individuals to exclude 75 percent of capital gains from tax.

Plan B is structured like the Steve Forbes flat tax, but it has four tax rates instead of one. A pure version of Plan B would tax just labor income at the individual level and capital income at the business level. It is "consumption-based" because individuals would not be taxed on the returns to savings and businesses would immediately write off, or expense, investments. That would be a very pro-growth tax structure.

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