Joseph J. Thorndike (Tax Analysts) has published Why Liberals Should Like Tax Reform (Dec. 14, 2010):

The smart money bets against tax reform — always and everywhere. But every once in a while — usually a long while — the smart money is wrong. In recent weeks, we've seen a few stray signals that this particular while may be almost over.

American political leaders are nearing that proverbial spot between a rock and a hard place. The rock, in this case, is our looming debt crisis. (Although words like "looming" conveniently obscure the timing of that crisis, which might unfold in a week or a decade.) The hard place — which lawmakers are highly skilled at avoiding — is genuine austerity.

So far, politicians have been able to wiggle out of that tight spot using a combination of empty rhetoric and legislative inertia. They complain loud and long about the unsustainable course of federal fiscal policy but then legislate like it doesn't exist. If the resulting cognitive dissonance ever gets to them, they certainly don't show it. Apparently, partisan scapegoating is a pretty good palliative. …

If taxes are going to play a big part in solving our long-term budget woes, then attention to the tax base is vital. If nothing else, it will help ensure that future (inevitable) tax increases are as efficient as possible. If lower rates are the price of base broadening, then liberals should swallow hard and accept that political (and economic) reality.

For the foreseeable future, adequacy should be the liberal priority when it comes to taxes. Not even progressivity comes close as a liberal goal. Indeed, progressive taxation — especially when reduced to arguments over top-end rates — can be an obstacle to progressive government. If liberals want to protect the vital social programs of the past — and make room for those of the future — then they need to make sure we have money to pay for them. How we raise that money is less important than simply having it in the first place.