They'll pound something through by the deadline it won't hit the investors and unearned income one little bit.

The fiscal cliff will hurt the constituents of the left harder than it hits the right, at least in the short term, so they'll have plenty of incentive to deal.

How are tax giveaways just as hard to remove as safety net giveaways? How can one be used to horse trade for the other? It's mind boggling.

It would be nice if the tax code wasn't the football of choice every election. I know paying back donors with tax dollars is always a sure way to open pocket books and money wins elections but it is just a red herring that causes more problems than it cures. And of course we always consider money from government as earned for us and giveaways for others. Never met a conservative or liberal who wasn't willing to cash their SS, pension or unemployment check. They paid taxes. They earned it. It is the other guy who is getting a freebie.

I agree that it looks like it will never be accomplished.

As a young man though I wonder how things looked in '86, before my adulthood. When you consider the sheer size of the overhaul accomplished then, it can take your breath away. Huge reduction in marginal rates, §469, AMT expansion... Based on the quality of congresses over the last decade I would say nothing approaching that level of change will happen again in my lifetime. I also wonder if the passive activity investors of '83 thought the same way that I do now...