Democrat House Votes For $65 Billion Tax Hike

On May 21st, the Democrat House Voted For $65 Billion Tax Hike combined with a number of billion-dollar tax subsidies. It was a confection of the worst habits of Washington: 'eat your vegetables' style tax rebates that turn the tax code into social engineering; a Christmas tree of corporate welfare giveaways; and earmark-style special tax loopholes. All of this wrapped in a 'green' alternative energy wrapper. Yet it had a $1.6 billion giveaway to the trail lawyers and a tax giveaway to Hollywood. Nothing energy about those provision, which were all about paying back the moneyed interests that grease the Democrats' palms. Speaker Pelosi and Charlie Rangel love this stuff. The lefty blogs fall for the garbage that this actually amounts to a hill of beans energy-wise (it doesn't), and ignore the multi-billion tax hike. House Republicans were skeptical:

Whether that agenda involves additional spending, new tax incentives, or even just extensions of the low-tax policies that Republicans originally enacted during our time in the majority, the Democrats’ solution seems to always be the same: tax, tax, tax. .... The majority’s bill represents a clear choice in favor of higher taxes. Our motion to recommit, on the other hand, represents a clear choice in favor of extending current tax relief, without offsetting tax hikes.

Unlike the bill brought forward today by the Majority, which contains $55.5 billion in revenue-raisers, our motion contains no – repeat, no – tax increases. Democrats were wrong to propose these sorts of offsetting tax hikes last year, and they are wrong again today.

Lamar Smith voted against it.

If the Republicans got their act together, they might even point out that the Democrats are living up to the old-time "tax and spend" label. The Republicans are correct to point out the travesty of the Democrats failing to fix our broken Alternative Minimum Tax, which is set to fry middle-class and upper-middle-class taxpayers with $2400 on average tax increases next year if Congress fails to act. The Bush tax cuts are set to expire, and with Charles Rangel in charge of Ways and Means, the inmates are truly running the asylum in the House. This is not the first multi-billion tax increase, and won't be the last unless we the people start raising a stink about the stinky Democratic-sponsored tax increases.