When the House balked at the bailout bill, some of us thought it signaled a new willingness to deal seriously with this country's fiscal situation and appropriately prioritize the needs of the vast majority of American taxpayers. When the House just a few days later passed that same bill "sweetened" by another $100 billion of mostly wasteful tax expenditures for big businesses and wealthier Americans, most of us realized that the House still hasn't gotten the message that the folks out here have been trying to tell it: taxes are important, and it is important to have fair tax policies. The people who have reaped the greatest benefit from the right-wing attack on government and taxes are the wealthy, yet the wealthy investor class is the most able to pay more in taxes without making a dent in their lifestyle.
Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ) similarly chides Congress. If we are really serious about getting tough with Wall Street, then we should stop subsidizing Wall Street with one of the most expensive breaks in the tax code. It's time to do some of the good that was done when the Republicans and Democrats worked together under Packwood and Rostenkowski and Reagan in the Tax Reform Act of 1986--eliminate the tax preference for the investment income of the wealthy. See Timely CTJ Report Pushes for Reagan Tax Proposal, OMBWatch, Oct. 2, 2008; Time to Stop Subsidizing Wall Street: Eliminate the Tax Loopholes for Capital Gains and Dividends, CTJ, Oct. 1, 2008.
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