James Pethokoukis: “Obama’s campaign promise to not raise taxes on households making less than $250,000 a year was always considered a joke here inside the Beltway.”

A joke? Perhaps. Also otherwise known as a lie:

It’s the economic “consensus” — and this was true even before the financial meltdown and recession — that rising entitlement costs would eventually mean a higher tax burden for the American people.

Maybe it was a joke inside the campaign, too. Since being elected, Obama has raised cigarette taxes and has advocated raising healthcare taxes, energy and small business taxes, in addition to corporate taxes. What’s more, economic advisers like Larry Summers seem eager to get rid of all the Bush tax cuts, not just those on so-called wealthy Americans.

A value added tax (VAT) by the Obama administration and Democrats will only further add to their losses in the 2010 and 2012 election cycles, as even those who voted for Obama will know they were lied to when even their paychecks and employment options are increasingly smaller.

Obama wants a VAT? First, it should be part of broader tax reform, including getting rid of capital gains and corporate taxes. Second, it should accompany an Economic Bill of Rights much like Ronald Reagan used to suggest. Its elements: a) a balanced budget amendment, b) a line-item veto, c) a spending limit such as inflation plus population growth, d) and a two-thirds vote in the House and Senate for any tax increases. (Reagan also wanted a prohibition on wage and price controls. That would likely kill ObamaCare.)

And come to think of it, let’s cut spending and streamline government before cash-strapped, wealth-reduced taxpayers are forced to pony up a penny more, OK?

Sounds good to me. Not going to happen anytime soon, though.