Tax season is here, and as we subject ourselves to this perennial torture it begs the question: is there a better way to raise the money we need to fund the government without the massive compliance costs and inefficiencies? Two tax and economics experts, John Cochrane and Grover Norquist, join Rep. Crenshaw to answer that question. They take a close look at costs and benefits of the controversial Fair Tax and consumption taxes more broadly, how the U.S. tax system is one of the most progressive in the world, the political reality of tax reform, and what a perfect tax code starting from scratch would look like.

John Cochrane is an economist and Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. His latest book is “The Fiscal Theory of the Price Level.” His blog is the “the Grumpy Economist” at johnhcochrane.blogspot.com and he also cohosts the Good Fellows Podcast with General H.R. McMasters and Nialls Ferguson. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnHCochrane.

Grover Norquist is president of Americans for Tax Reform, a taxpayer advocacy group he founded in 1985 at President Reagan’s request. Follow him on Twitter at @GroverNorquist.

Hold These Truths | Episode 276