Patience is a virtue, right?

I've often commented that patience is a virtue with which I have not been blessed. Perhaps this will be one of those things that's supposed to teach me patience.

I refer, of course, to the ever elusive goal of tax simplification.

The cost of tax compliance and enforcement is mind boggling. I believe the cost of inaction in reform is much more significant than the potential costs of actual reform. Clearly, it's going to take more than the White House's panel on "tax simplification without significant reform" to make real progress. As many tax bloggers posted, the President's tax reform panel has delayed reporting on its findings (coverage includes posts from Joe Kristan, Professor Nellen, Robert Flach, Kay Bell, Howard Gleckman).

The Wandering Tax Pro directs us to a Business Week article titled Fight the Deficit Monster with Tax Reform. I wonder if perhaps things have to get really, really bad before they can get better. If so, are we just maybe getting to that point where it's bad enough for the public to harass Congress until reform happens?

I realize it's going to take awhile. I've got another 30+ years to retirement, and I like to think we'll make some progress in that time. I'm up for the marathon. I may not be the most patient participant in the race, but I've got the grit.