Just in time for Halloween comes House Ways and Means Committee Chairman
Charles Rangel - henceforth known as Count Rangula - with a bill that would
suck more blood from the American taxpayers.
Like Dracula the vampire, Count Rangula is cagey about his intentions,
luring his victims (us) with promises of "reforming" the tax code.
Raise your hand if you believe we are not turning enough of our income over
to government. Raise your other hand if you think government is too small
and spends too little.
Tax revenues are at a record high and the deficit is shrinking under the
Bush tax cuts. Since the policy is working - even in the middle of new
spending by the former Republican majority and current Democratic majority -
why does government require more of our money? Why can't they live within
our means? Why do we allow government to get
away with the fiction that everything it does is right and noble and true
and if we resist paying for it, we are unholy and uncaring?
Why don't politicians ever ask us if we have
enough money? Why don't they focus on the waste, fraud and abuse that so
permeates government, no matter which party controls the White House and
Congress? They can start by reforming Social Security and Medicare, but
won't because of the demagoguery that surrounds every attempt to fix these
soon-to-be bankrupt programs.
Predictably, Count Rangula promises to "fix" a tax code that everyone hates
and few understand. Vampires rely on deception. He includes just enough
enticements, hoping we will buy the rest. But, according to The National
Taxpayers Union (NTU), "...on balance, (the bill) is likely to extract more
money from our economy and small businesses. That means fewer jobs, less
income growth, and bigger government."
Count Rangula proposes to rid us of the dreadful Alternative Minimum Tax, which was designed to make sure the super rich pay at least some taxes but, because of the failure to index the measure for inflation, it has crept into the middle class. But he effectively resurrects the measure using a different name, which would affect millions of Americans. He also would boost the standard deduction, but simultaneously erode other popular write-offs, such as mortgage interest and charitable giving. According to the NTU, “families who would qualify as upper middle class in many metro areas would see their tax rates go as high as 44 percent, compared to the 35 percent or less they are now paying.”