Comments on: Is Nancy Pelosi Serious About Cleaning Up Corruption in Congress? http://urbangrounds.com/2006/11/equal-opportunity-corruption/ Sometimes the truth hurts Tue, 14 Feb 2012 23:23:22 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: caprunning dog http://urbangrounds.com/2006/11/equal-opportunity-corruption/#comment-28246 caprunning dog Tue, 14 Nov 2006 00:23:24 +0000 http://urbangrounds.com/2006/11/10/equal-opportunity-corruption/#comment-28246 Hmm. I wonder if the Dems are really interested in cleaning up Congress Perhaps they should ask Newt to come out of retirement and tell everyone where the bodies are as he has threatened to do. I'm afraid that the Dems and the Repubs would much rather see business as usual than to really clean things up even though corruption was the number 1 issue on folks minds. Hmm.

I wonder if the Dems are really interested in cleaning up Congress Perhaps they should ask Newt to come out of retirement and tell everyone where the bodies are as he has threatened to do.

I’m afraid that the Dems and the Repubs would much rather see business as usual than to really clean things up even though corruption was the number 1 issue on folks minds.

]]> By: dianne http://urbangrounds.com/2006/11/equal-opportunity-corruption/#comment-28229 dianne Mon, 13 Nov 2006 16:08:48 +0000 http://urbangrounds.com/2006/11/10/equal-opportunity-corruption/#comment-28229 Thanks Preston, but my little stints at consulting are enough for me. However, having been the unhappy payer of the AMT in the 90's, I wholeheartedly support that this tax problem is fixed. Ya know, we weren't rich when we had to pay this tax. We were making about 200K a year at the time and got hammered. I really don't understand this tax but apparently it hit us because some of our biggest deductions were state taxes. We owned our home so had no mortgage deduction but the state taxes are so high here in Kansas, they alone qualified us for itemized deductions. But, the AMT apparently didn't allow these state deductions. By the way, I know Clinton didn't "start" the AMT, but he upped it to 28% (just heard that on C-span this morning) in 1993. In any event, it must be fixed but that revenue is going to have to be made up elsewhere...the fight is on. Thanks Preston, but my little stints at consulting are enough for me.

However, having been the unhappy payer of the AMT in the 90′s, I wholeheartedly support that this tax problem is fixed. Ya know, we weren’t rich when we had to pay this tax. We were making about 200K a year at the time and got hammered. I really don’t understand this tax but apparently it hit us because some of our biggest deductions were state taxes. We owned our home so had no mortgage deduction but the state taxes are so high here in Kansas, they alone qualified us for itemized deductions. But, the AMT apparently didn’t allow these state deductions.

By the way, I know Clinton didn’t “start” the AMT, but he upped it to 28% (just heard that on C-span this morning) in 1993.

In any event, it must be fixed but that revenue is going to have to be made up elsewhere…the fight is on.

]]> By: Preston http://urbangrounds.com/2006/11/equal-opportunity-corruption/#comment-28137 Preston Sat, 11 Nov 2006 20:37:35 +0000 http://urbangrounds.com/2006/11/10/equal-opportunity-corruption/#comment-28137 Robbie- I agree. I'll be very disappointed if corrupt politicians are put in positions of power. There is a movement among activists to keep the back room negotiations from annointing these people but it's a tough go... O/T Dianne: Maybe you can <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/10/AR2006111001800.html" rel="nofollow">un-retire</a>: <em>Democratic leaders this week vowed to make the alternative minimum tax a centerpiece of next year's budget debate, saying the levy threatens to unfairly increase tax bills for millions of middle-class families by the end of the decade. The complex and expensive tax was designed to prevent the super-rich from using deductions, credits and other shelters to avoid paying the Internal Revenue Service. But because of rising incomes, the tax is expected to expand to more than 30 million taxpayers in 2010 from 3.8 million mostly well-off households in 2006. Fixing the AMT has long been a top priority for Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), who is in line to head the Senate Finance Committee. Last year, Baucus co-authored a bill to repeal the tax with Senate Finance Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa).</em> Robbie-
I agree. I’ll be very disappointed if corrupt politicians are put in positions of power. There is a movement among activists to keep the back room negotiations from annointing these people but it’s a tough go…

O/T
Dianne:
Maybe you can un-retire:

Democratic leaders this week vowed to make the alternative minimum tax a centerpiece of next year’s budget debate, saying the levy threatens to unfairly increase tax bills for millions of middle-class families by the end of the decade.

The complex and expensive tax was designed to prevent the super-rich from using deductions, credits and other shelters to avoid paying the Internal Revenue Service. But because of rising incomes, the tax is expected to expand to more than 30 million taxpayers in 2010 from 3.8 million mostly well-off households in 2006.

Fixing the AMT has long been a top priority for Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), who is in line to head the Senate Finance Committee. Last year, Baucus co-authored a bill to repeal the tax with Senate Finance Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa).

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