Let me save you a blue-ribbon Panel

Obama is doing another PR stunt: Putting together a tax blue-ribbon panel, focussed on trying to squeeze more taxes out of the taxpayer: “There are hundreds of billions of dollars in uncollected taxes each year,” Orszag said in a conference call. The Volcker board “will be examining ways of being even more aggressive on reducing the tax gap.”

Let me save you a blue-ribbon Panel, Mr President - Bush did the same "Tax Panel" thing in 2005! Bush's Federal Tax Reform Panel issued a lovely report, presented great ideas on fixing the tax system ... and it got put on the shelf collecting dust. Instead of a new panel, all Obama needs to do is Read the 2005 Panel's Conclusions and act on the recommendations.

Take from someone who wrestles with taxes each year: We need a flatter, fairer, simpler and more efficient tax system. The 2005 Panel had some great ideas to reduce complexity, reduce the number of tax rates, abolish AMT, and make the system simpler and fairer.