The Economist editorialized in glowing terms about The Flat Tax Revolution. They left out, though, any discussion of the biggest downside of implementing a simple, deduction free flat tax system: the massive unemployment of tax lawyers, accountants, congressional staffers, lobbyists, tax pundits, and everyone else involved in supporting the current US tax system. But, over a few years, they will all retrain and find jobs in the new opportunities spawned by the redirected spending or savings of the prevously wasted money.
Also, Drum is correct that a flat tax rate does not require the elimination of deductions but, really, why wouldn’t you do it right and combine the two as long as you were redoing the tax system? His hammering of The Economist on this point no more lame than the editorial. They do combine the two into one proposal but they do not seem to confuse the two.