House passes another unaffordable tax cut

The poor died from Katrina and the wars, yet rather than making any sacrifices to preserve the great American dream, the rich ask to be "rewarded" with tax cuts so that they can keep driving their Escalades.

Apparently a few Dems voted for it too. Shame on them.

WASHINGTON (AP) - A bill awarding tax relief to investors and 15 million taxpayers facing the alternative minimum tax passed the House on Wednesday, giving President Bush and his GOP allies on Capitol Hill a long-sought election year victory.

The bill providing tax cuts worth $70 billion over five years passed by a 244-185 vote. The Senate was expected to clear the bill for Bush’s signature Thursday.

The legislation provides a two-year extension of the reduced 15 percent tax rate for capital gains and dividends, currently set to expire at the end of 2008.

It also would extend, for this year, recent changes to the alternative minimum tax — originally aimed at making sure the wealthy pay at least some taxes — to prevent it from hitting more upper middle-income families.

The debate divided starkly along partisan lines, with Republicans crediting the tax cuts, first enacted in 2003, with a surging economy, millions of new jobs and booming tax revenues. Democrats countered that the deficit-financed tax cuts are tilted in favor of wealthy investors and that the economic benefits are not as great as advertised.

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