OUG said;
govt debt..has little to do with any energy shortage

I never said that.
He also said;
[oil was SUPPOSED to peak 13 years ago

No, it was only in 1956 that prediction was made, but as it occurred in
2005-2006 that was a pretty good shot.
Forget tight oil, it will peak around 2015 to 2017.

Individual, people have been suggesting a flat tax for years.
There must be some significant disadvantage for it not to become a
major discussion subject. It would be very easy for government.

Once the economy starts winding down there is a risk of collapse
being triggered. Complex societies, according to what I have read,
about complex systems, collapse very quickly.
Winding down needs clever management. Could our pollies do it ?

The truck driver strike in the UK is given as a modern example.
Three days after the strike began the supermarket shelves were empty
and women were fighting in the aisles over the scraps.
Men were fighting at the service stations for queue positions.

So far all civilisations have collapsed eventually.
Why should ours be an exception ?

There must be some significant disadvantage for it not to become a
major discussion subject.
Bazz,
There is, for those who exploit every tiny little loophole to reduce their tax. A flat tax closes many of those loopholes. The greedy will be making less but it is the most fair system of all. No matter how much you earn you pay, say 18-20 % tax, no if's no but's. None of this writing off crap. Most people I speak with are in favour of flat tax only the hangers-on are against it. Then again they'd be against anything that meant reward for effort instead of reward for bludging.

i have a family..trust..it owns aircraft/ships..hotels breweries/media mines and hookers

i pay my flat tax on 500 silver dollars per year
so i send off my 5 bucks dutifully..but see that
one of my silver dollar's is worth 50 bucks..just forr the suilver content..inthe dollar coin

ok..your dollar coin..is cupra-nickle not pure silver like mine
but i only get 500 of them=500 dollars

=flat tax 5 dollars..in poor man
[cupra/nickle..*dollars"

so what if the 500 coins REAL means 2500.dollars in silver
i got dollars..paid in dollars..except i receive in dollar AMOUNTS..under the tax free..[now]..and then..if i canwish..just live for free travel for fee on my ships planes and luxury resorts..all for free

you..serfs..have noidea..how much loves of money LOVE MONEY
and will do anything to..avoid giving it away as tax

heck one of the great..things is tax free donations
i make to my ol'almamarta[school]..is ALL TAX DEDUCTIBLE..

plus GOVT tops up any donation..DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR..
mate having the cash..or the advantages we got
its great mate..we OWN the lawyers
and our lawyers.write YOUR laws
[they own trusts tax fee too]

anyhow slave get back to work
let us rulers lord..it over your feeble attempts..to steal..MY*money

tax..is for you
not me..you will..never get rich like us..by paying tax

Well OUG that was the most readable post of yours that I have read.
Individual, OUG has made a point, how do you prove just what people
earn ? Of course that is a problem now, so that should not be a point
against a flat tax.

How does a flat tax cope with people on a pension who have some taxable
income ? Is there still a threshold ?
Are super contributions taxed at the standard rate ?
There would be lots of similar questions.

Addressing the article:

Pericles may have hit on the truth (in the first comment on this thread) - necessity is the mother of invention, and the greater the necessity, the greater the effort to discover/invent viable solutions.

Or, in another way: The fat and spoiled will always be less inclined to seek novel and inventive/innovative solutions (other than better ways to count, and increase, their accumulated fortunes).

Mind you, the current 'solution' of many, that of seeking warmer (or 'greener') pastures - by hopping on a boat - ain't the answer.

Still, I am firmly of the view that the age of decadence is rapidly coming to a rude awakening (wherein climate change will be the least of our worries).
Hope for the best, or prepare for the worst? I'm for preparing.

Since continuous 'growth' is fast falling into the trap of ever-diminishing returns (and frenetic over-exploitation), a paradigm shift towards full sustainability and 'balance' is becoming increasingly imperative for the long-term survival of humanity, irrespective of the immediate cost - particularly to our current Western 'lifestyle' and rate of consumption.

If global inequality should be allowed to reach truly intolerable proportions, then look out for the arms-race to beat all arms-races, and for a holocaust of almost inconceivable proportion.

Guardians of the planet for future generations; or exploitative fools gambling (and wasting) all future prospect on 'one last roll of the dice'?
(Too ‘clever’ for our own good? - and/or, for everything truly worth keeping?)

Bazz,
With a flat tax there'd be more money in the coffers instantly because everyone pays tax. It would of course be needed to work in with the GST. Earn a dollar you pay say, 18-20 cents tax. Donate if you will but do not claim it back from tax after all it is a DONATION, get it ?
want to start a business ? Buy the stuff you need, don't expect others to subsidise you by way of writing it off the tax. I know there'd be howls of protest but they'd be silenced in no time when funding for essential services is not a problem anymore because the hangers-on are paying their way & their breed become history.
Infrastructure would employ tens of thousands & the maintenance of it keep thousands employed. There really is so much potential, we only need to keep working on refining flat tax it until such time that Government literally has no choice other than seeing its merit & introduces it. Wages & prices must be frozen for at least a decade so that the economy can stabilise rather than run ahead of us with never a hope of catching up. We must stop the perpetual growth mentality which is in fact nothing more than a mental illness. Just try & talk with one of those fruitcake economists who, by having all the answers can never produce any results.