While I believe the VAT tax systems are one of the better forms of revenue collection, I sure can see the point that such a tax will--in the short term and probably the long term--hurt the middle class and lower.

In 2014, Frances Fukuyama wrote a book about how political parties are to cater to their bases. According to him, its what makes democracy "work so well." But he also mentions that the Republican Party has broken that trend. Of all the political parties in the western world, the Republicans do not offer their voters anything tangible. He was at a loss to explain the popularity they hold.