However, overall reform is tough because (warning – extreme generalization follows) many Republicans want such reform as a stand alone (an actual tax cut) whereby many Democrats want the reform “paid” for with tax increases elsewhere (investments and capital gains).

One reason Democrats do like the idea of AMT reform is because AMT, as currently constructed, probably hurts Blue Staters more. This is because State Income & Property taxes are NOT deductible for AMT purposes. Eliminatinmg/altering AMT may make it easier to raise those taxes

A radical idea would be to eliminate the regular tax & just leave the AMT calculation intact as our tax system. It would be a lot simpler system as it would be a move to a flat tax.

Final notes: tax cuts are not “windfalls” – winning the lottery is a “windfall”; keeping what you already have is not…..and we do not tax the “super rich” per se, we tax the high-income earner…otherwise the likes of Ted Kennedy, Jay Rockefeller and John Kerry would not be enjoying the lifestyle they do if they were living off just their post-tax Senate salaries instead of their no-longer-taxed wealth…

Answer: the super-rich. The American government spends billions upon billions in taxes from the middle class to protect the investments of the super-rich. They negotiate beneficial trade agreements for the super-rich owners of large American companies. They defend American interests abroad diplomatically and in some cases with war.

While some of this windfall benefits the middle class and poor, most of it flows to the very selective few super-rich. Most of these rich have not even acquired their vaulted position by their merit, but rather through the merit of their parents or grandparents.

So, please save the morality argument, and stop pretending that one day you will be super-rich. Middle class America is getting bent over a barrel by the super-rich and they’re laughing at us.

Let’s also talk about morality. Here’s something that is conveniently overlooked: one of the seven deadly sins–GREED.

Here’s another blurb from the same NY Times article:

“These taxpayers, whose average income was $26 million, paid about the same share of their income in income taxes as those making $200,000 to $500,000 because of the lowered rates on investment income.”

I am sure the fat-cats who make $26 million a year in income advocated heavily for these tax changes. I think that we have reached the point when the super-rich being just plain greedy.

Its time for society to take the moral stance and keep them in check, else we will have the same landed aristocracy that destroyed Europe.