You sound like a libertarian.

"But restructuring the IRS and just the information systems alone needed to integrate the various databases alone necessary to compile even an 90% accurate retirn for 50% of the taxpayers would choke the federal budget.  Whatever marginal "efficiencies" (not Edwards stays away from "savings") are realized would surely be overwhelmed by the increase in staff and rework costs as well as additional training and the publications necessary to explain to the taxpayer how this whole thing has to work."

You provide a lot of conjecture here but no evidence to back up your claims. Why would the IRS sending out form I's "choke" the federal budget? Do you have any evidence to back up that claim?

"By the way, SocSec Medicare/caid eat up 44% of the entire budget already.  Do we really need to bloat it growing the IRS?"

I fail to understand your point. What else SHOULD be eating up the federal budget besides core health and human services? Do you think the federal budget for these programs is too large? You know we have a deficit, but we wouldn't have one if we didn't have those stupid tax cuts for the wealthiest people in this country.

Social Security and Medicare do not "eat up" the budget. They are both highly valuable services (appreciated by both those who directly and indirectly benefit) that are paid for by specific taxes.

That 1%-3% figure for overhead for SS and medicare/medicaid has been widely quoted for years now. I'd say it's amazing you've not seen it, but based on the pro-republican pro-bush tax cuts post you make downthread I guess it's not so amazing after all.