Democrats Splintering On AMT
Will the attempt to 'patch' the Alternative Minimum Tax be the proverbial straw that shatters the backbone of the Democratic-controlled Congress? Quite possibly, according to the Washington Post. They report that 31 so-called Blue Dogs have revolted against the House leadership.
Thirty-one Blue Dogs sent a letter to Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) this week, saying that they will not accept legislation to stave off the growth of the alternative minimum tax unless its cost to the Treasury is offset by tax increases or spending cuts. They demanded compliance with Congress's new "pay as you go" — or "paygo" — rules.
"We believe that waiving PAYGO, no matter the political pressure, is both fiscally reckless and an abdication of our duties," the Blue Dogs wrote. "Under no circumstance will we vote for any piece of legislation that does not meet the requirements of PAYGO, nor will we vote to waive the PAYGO rules to allow for such legislation."
Rock, meet hard place.
Or back meet straw, whichever you prefer. While both parties will catch blame if the AMT is not fixed, the Democrats will suffer the most - they were the ones who imposed the tax in the first place and they are the ones who promised that they would make fixing it a priority. While the leadership dithers around trying to find ways to derail a war that appears to have taken a turn for the better, they let a pocketbook issue that will directly impact millions of taxpayers go. Add to that the fact that lobbyist money flowing into Democratic coffers is what derailed the tax increase and the Democrats may have hit a perfect storm with this mess.
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Blue Crab Boulevard » The $50 Billion Hole — Friday, 7 December , 2007 @ 9:21 am
By syn, Thursday, 6 December , 2007 @ 7:49 am
Ah yes, the Centrist voter who likes to receive all those government entitlement goodies gets really, really mad the moment they find that it’s their own personal wealth which is at stake as the bills come due.
The Center needs to determine which social programs they’re willing to fund and which social programs they’re will to give up before we can ever rid America of all this government theft.
By FedUp, Thursday, 6 December , 2007 @ 1:05 pm
Tea Party Time!!! These varmints need to get out of our pockets AND Congress!
By Mockin'bird, Thursday, 6 December , 2007 @ 4:07 pm
I hope this AMT flap splits the Dems big time. And, I want the Repubs to get some spine.