Questions for the nominee who didn't pay taxes

It is said that being boring is an occupational hazard for economists, but...

President Obama supports the estate tax. Why should a person who leaves his money to his children pay more in taxes than another person with the same lifetime income who spends all his money on himself?

That's a question Greg Mankiw would ask Treasury secretary nominee Tim Geithner. Here's another he'd like to see asked...

The American tax code is so complex that even Treasury secretary nominees can easily make mistakes on their returns. Furthermore, while income tax rates are 10 percent to 35 percent for individuals and 35 percent for corporations, because of the proliferation of deductions, credits, exclusions and loopholes, the revenue from income tax amounts to only 10 percent of gross domestic product. Should you give priority to simplifying the code and enforcing compliance before raising rates?

If economists got to ask questions such hearings would be a heck of a lot more interesting.