Republicans Oppose Tax Cut

Here’s a “dog bites man” news item if ever there was one: Republicans are opposed to a tax cut!

The tax cut in question is in the Tax Reduction and Reform Act of 2007, introduced by Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY), which would eliminate the Alternative Minimum Tax. Originally meant to ensure that wealthy families paid their share of taxes, the AMT has become in effect a surcharge on what are now middle-income families because it is not adjusted for inflation.

Rangel’s bill would balance the loss in tax revenue from eliminating the AMT by levying a 4% surcharge on individuals with income of more than $150,000 and couples with income of more than $200,000; individuals earning more than $250,000 and couples earning more than $500,000 would pay a 4.6 percent surcharge.

Rangel’s bill does more than just repeal the AMT. The Baltimore Sun summarizes:

Rangel’s long-term overhaul would increase the standard tax deduction for those who don’t itemize deductions on their tax returns. For a married couple filing jointly, the bill would boost the standard deduction by $850; for singles and married people filing separately, $425; and for heads of households, $625. About two-thirds of taxpayers now take the standard deduction.
 

The bill also would expand the number of low-income taxpayers eligible for the earned income tax credit. The maximum qualifying income for those without children would double to $10,900.
 

[…]
 

The corporate tax rate would be reduced from 35 percent to 30.5 percent, as suggested by the Bush administration, but Rangel’s bill would shut off or limit a number of corporate tax preferences.
 

In the most controversial move, he proposed to limit the tax breaks that U.S. corporations receive for profits earned on their foreign operations. The bill says that companies could not claim deductions associated with these foreign earnings until they repatriate their income back into the U.S., making it subject to taxation.
 

Another provision would repeal over eight years the so-called accounting method known as LIFO for last in, first out. This has enabled firms to pay less tax on inventories.

Rangel also called for one-year extensions of a number of tax breaks that will expire at the end of 2007—including the research and development credit.

Rangel wants to give lower-income people a break and make rich people and corporations pay something closer to their fair share. No wonder the Republicans are squealing as if in agony.

John Boehner’s statement on the bill is representative of the Grand Oligarchs Party’s collective hysteria:

Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said that raising taxes would “doom our economy, put people out of work, and cost the federal government revenue that is badly needed if we’re in fact going to balance the budget.”

As much as we need tax relief for the non-rich, I could enjoy seeing the debate over this bill extend into 2008. It can only help Democratic candidates to have a fine display of Republican fiscal policy:

Republicans whine
And Republicans bitch,
“The rich are too poor
And the poor are too rich!”

Mexico, October 30th 2007

Twinsouled left. The split inside the left continues, placing Mexico at elevated risk in the event of crisis. The New Left leadership, heirs of Echeverria, is planning to disown Lopez Obrador or perhaps to goad him into disowning the PRD. Either would be catastrophic, leaving Mexico with no authentic political representation.

Congratulations, Iraqis. You’re in the hands of the people who gave the world the levee failure

Even worse as an omen: among the Iraqis, you’re our closest allies.

Amit Paley, WaPo:

The largest dam in Iraq is in serious danger of an imminent collapse that could unleash a trillion-gallon wave of water, possibly killing thousands of people and flooding two of the largest cities in the country, according to new assessments by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other U.S. officials.

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Even in a country gripped by daily bloodshed, the possibility of a catastrophic failure of the Mosul Dam has alarmed American officials, who have concluded that it could lead to as many as 500,000 civilian deaths by drowning Mosul under 65 feet of water and parts of Baghdad under 15 feet, said Abdulkhalik Thanoon Ayoub, the dam manager.

…

Sitting in a picturesque valley 45 miles along the Tigris River north of Mosul, the earthen dam has one fundamental problem: It was built on top of gypsum, which dissolves when it comes into contact with water.

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Almost immediately after the dam was completed in the early 1980s, engineers began injecting the dam with grout, a liquefied mixture of cement and other additives

35W Bridge Update

As usual, the local and national GOPers are trying to demagogue it and then blame the Dems for it. Flash at Centristy has the details.

The Bush Economy Strikes Again

McClatchy reports:

For the first time in more than 40 years, the majority of children in public schools in the South are poor, according to a report released Tuesday.

[…]

…hitting the South disproportionately were federal cutbacks in anti-poverty programs, the region’s higher rates of underemployment and the increased birthrates of Hispanic and African American children — who are statistically more likely than their white peers to be born into poverty.

[…]

Proponents hope that early childhood education will help all students, regardless of income level, succeed.

Early childhood education — I recall that the Bush Administration has tried to gut the Head Start program, reducing it from all-around early intervention to merely a reading program.

For Bush, “Leave No Child Behind” is just a slogan, stolen from the Children’s Defense Fund to camouflage malign neglect.

Growing up in poverty puts children at a disadvantage. Bush’s economic policies have consigned more children to poverty. Maybe he figures it doesn’t matter whether they get a decent education, since more of them will die because of his cuts to children’s health programs, and “decrease the surplus population”.

How ‘Bout A 100 MPG Hybrid Sports Car?

(Image courtesy of AutoBlog.com.)

Check this out:

The first image of the 100mpg plug-in hybrid that former BMW and Aston Martin designer Henrik Fisker is planning for production in 2009 has been released ahead of the car’s Detroit show debut in January 2008.

Described as “being the height of a Porsche 911, but with the internal space to fit four adults and their luggage”, the new car is a ground-up new design, according to Fisker Automotive.

The swooping, low roof-line and sculpted front wings definitely give Fisker’s design the look of a four-door supercar, with echoes of the Aston Martin Rapide.

[…]

Key performance targets of the sporty four-seater are a 50-mile range on pure electric power and an overall range of 620 miles when the car is used in hybrid mode.

Details of the new hybrid’s chassis and powertrain are still secret, although both petrol and diesel hybrids will be offered.

I wonder what David E. Davis thinks of this thing? Looks sweet, at any rate.

If it can live up to 80% of the hype — and being a Fisker design, that is a very safe assumption — this beastie will be to sports cars what the iPhone is to PDAs.