A Tax that Must Be Cut

In the Bushit world of tax reductions, one needs to be cut, the Alternative Minimum Tax. Last year, this prime example of the law of unintended consequences caught 3.9 million Americans in its net. It was originally passed to keep wealthy Americans from paying absolutely no tax (were those different days or what?). Problem is, there was no inflation adjustment for the amount of income that triggers the tax. So the number of us having to pay that abomination will rise.

So here's the plan: Cut the AMT and offset it by eliminating Bush's tax cuts. We can't just eliminate the tax, there isn't enough income in the Federal coffers, largely due to Bush's short-sighted, rob from the poor and give to the rich economic plans so, Democrats, step up and support your constituents.

Did I say, Democrats, step up?

We're still doing our best to lose what should be a gimme election. We're not taking strong stands on anything, we're all over the board. Here's the problem: Studies have shown that, if you set up a booth in a supermarket and load it down with choices, you'll have about a three percent sales rate. If you cut the choices to seven, your rate goes into the thirties. This is not an either-or decision about who to vote for, it's a fully voluntary decision to buy, say, jam. We're all over the board, we're the booth with twenty-seven choices, something for everyone. We need to reduce our inventory to:

1. Defense. We're the stronger party. When America is seen as a good and progressive nation, there will be less incentive to attack it. We are strong and will remain so and pity the fool that does attack. We will support our friends and we will honor their opinions even when they disagree with ours.

2. Taxation. We're the fair party. We will not cut the taxes of the rich and drive the nation into bankrupcy on the backs of the poor. We will rescind the Shrub's tax reforms and we will use the money wisely, for example, to build a new, better New Orleans and to educate our children.

3. Social Programs. We will rescind that horrible bankrupcy law, we will fix the Medicare drug benefit and we will protect your social security. If it means those with the means to pay have to pay, so be it.

4. Integrity. We will dismantle K-Street and the Republican money-for-influence machine. We will agressively prosecute anyone caught dipping from that till and we will reform Congress, including ourselves, by standing for elimination of corporate money in elections, publicly funding all elections at a national level and eliminating gifts from lobbyists. We will not defend any of our own caught in a financial scandal and we will strip the congressional pension from anyone caught taking a bribe and peddling influence. To keep influence to a minimum, we will eliminate earmarks.

5. Priorities. Our priority is America. We will protect our environment. We will work toward energy independence. We will educate our workforce. We will support growth incentives for research and development. We will educate our children. We will support universal health care.

6. Responsibility. We will balance the budget. The programs we cut will be those that do not benefit individual Americans: There's no reason we pay ten times for defense what our next competitor does.

7. International relations. We will further our interests but we will do so with respect for others. We will not bully others into accepting our points of view, rather will build strong alliances and friendships based on trust of America, not fear of her.

I chose seven because seven seems to be the most effective number. Perhaps someone can come up with one or two more or leave one or two off. Bottom line is that we need a simplified, easy to understand statement of what we are for. It's easy to be against the current regime, they've proven themselves incompetent, corrupt and arrogant. It's harder to show people what you stand for, particularly in a party as fractured as ours. We must if we want to do more than just set on the back benches and watch our Republic erode under Republican rule.