Washington (CNSNews.com) – The White House several times this week refused to rule out support for a value added tax (VAT)--a tax that all American consumers would pay but not directly see because it would applied to items at every stage of production. Such a tax would affect purchasers of all income levels by making the goods they buy more expensive and increasing the cost of living in the United States across the board.

Obama himself--in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday – refused to rule out a VAT:

“I know that there's been a lot of talk around town lately about the value-added tax," Obama told CNBC’s John Harwood. “That is something that has worked for some countries, and something that would be novel for the United States, and before I start saying, 'This makes sense or that makes sense,' I want to get a better picture of what our options are.”

Obama's spokesman also was pressed on the issue Wednesday...