We’ve often maintained that one of the greatest tragedies of American history was the passage of the 16th Amendment, which created the federal income tax in 1913. Prior to that, most federal revenues came from tariffs and land sales.

Trump said in an offhand way last week that he might want to eliminate the income tax and fund the government with higher tariffs.

Unleash Prosperity co-founders Arthur Laffer and Stephen Moore have both over the years helped design tax plans that would repeal the income tax and fully replace its revenue.

It would likely include a national sales tax with a rebate for low-income Americans and a flat rate tariff on all imports. This consumption tax could work, but to keep the rate below 20%, government spending would have to be slashed.

If conservatives are serious about pushing this idea, we will be right behind them. Taxing consumption is smarter than taxing income. The plan would be a gigantic vacuum cleaner sucking up capital from across the world.