Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA)
Not even a surprise anymore... this is what caused Eric Cantor to bolt from the debt-ceiling negotiations entirely, rather than
have to listen to such scary stories:
Democrats want to close tax loopholes that benefit oil companies, and eliminate a tax preference that gives corporate aircraft a friendlier depreciation schedule than commercial aircraft. Additionally, Van Hollen said, Democrats were proposing to phase out tax deductions and certain credits for people making more than $500,000 a year. These would be paired with a reduction in the tax burden on lower earners, by eliminating existing limitations on their deductions.
"Folks with over $500,000, we're going to phase out your deductions and some of your tax credit," Van Hollen said. [...]
So brave, brave Eric Cantor left in a huff. Hey, we're in a time of national crisis and everything, but reduce tax breaks for the rich, making them share the burden ever-so-slightly? Oh, we can't have that.
This really is impressive. Congress raised the debt ceiling over and over again during the Bush years. But the ironclad rule of modern Republicanism is that The Rich Own Us All: propose anything that treats the wealthy the same as they were treated pre-Bush, and that's it—close down the entire economy and go home.
I'd sure like to know why pundits and newsmen still treat these idiots and their sudden "deficit" concerns seriously.