Simplifying the tax code is certainly sensible. Reducing the tax burden is not. As mandatory expenditures (medicare and social security) continue to increase

Simplifying the tax code is certainly sensible. Reducing the tax burden is not. As mandatory expenditures (medicare and social security) continue to increase as a percentage of GDP, the discretionary part of the budget (roads, defense, R&D, etc.) is going to continue to get squeezed. Unless we can significantly reduce the amount of money going to the health care sector to the tune of about $1T/year (and deal with the impacts of that on the people currently working in that sector), tax burden is going to have to go up. Some nice charts midway through this page: https://www.pgpf.org/analysis/cbo-warns-fiscal-path-is-unsustainable-and-threatens-economic-growth https://www.pgpf.org/analysis/cbo-warns-fiscal-path-is-unsus...