We can argue about various efforts to re-jigger the IRS code since the 1986 Tax Reform Act and whether they rank up there as real "reform."

We've had significant tax legislation since then, but nothing like the 1986 Act or the 1982 Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act (TEFRA.)

So with neither party willing to risk any political capital on reform, we have a yearly dog and pony show on or around April 15th, where at least the House passes a few bills on tax issues, lawmakers get up and demand change and then we all go back to our holes in the ground and don't do much for the next year.

Now before the FairTax supporters bombard me with emails about what they've been doing, this is all about producing legislation that gets passed.

Congress has become all hat and no cattle in terms of real tax reform.

One thing I have always felt about my job in covering Congress is how much I cannot stand covering issues that aren't going anywhere. Nothing makes me yearn to be on the golf course more than finger pointing on an election year issue that's all politics.

Tax reform reached that years ago. Lots of people talk about it, but nobody puts the political muscle behind it to get anything substantial done.

President Bush had a commission put together a report, but the final product was dead even before it could be pronounced Dead On Arrival.

As of now, the November elections seem unlikely to change that appraisal when it comes to reforming the IRS code.