The "power to the powerful," borrow-and-spend, party never fails to disappoint. As the New York Times reports, the Alternative Minimum Tax "was created in 1969 to ensure no one, typically the wealthy, could avoid paying all taxes because of various tax deductions. But never indexed for inflation, the tax hit approximately four million upper-middle class taxpayers this past year and with no change, would rope in an estimated 20-25 million taxpayers this year.

So House Democrats, while not yet acting on the proposal of Representative Charles Rangel (D.- N.Y.) to elimnate the AMT, proposed a rules change to abort the expanded sweep of the tax. This would cost the Treasury roughlt $80 billion, and House Democratic rules require that any tax cut or spending increase be offset to forestall an increased budget deficit. The bill, therefore, included an offsetting tax increase, on private equity managers.

The bill carried the House, 216 to 93. That would be 216 Democrats. Yes, howling about the impact upon the wealthy, no Repub voted for it and the White House warns of a veto if it passes the Senate.

Additionally, reports the Times, the White House also said language in the bill to terminate an IRS program farming out delinquency cases to private debt collectors would subject it to a veto.

Privatization and increased taxation. How many ways can the Repub Party tell the middle class to go to hell? Stay tuned.