One of the big issues of the presidential campaign was income taxes: Who would raise them on whom, and who would cut them for the middle class. However, one thing that wasn’t talked about is the fact that income taxes won’t be able to cover the cost of our government’s increasing obligations.

Something else needs to be done in terms of revenue.

One of the ideas that has yet to take hold, however, is the value-added tax (VAT). VAT is a tax that is charged at every step of production. It’s basically sales tax, but it is collected before the consumer gets the product. It is an efficient — and documented — way for governments to make money. It’s extremely popular in Europe.

The VAT is basically invisible, so people don’t get upset about it, like they do when income taxes are raised. Our government needs some revenue, and this may be the way it has to be done in the future.