Word: fairings
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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ITHACA, N.Y.--All's Fair in love, war and Ithaca...
Take the existing federal gasoline tax. Anyone can understand it. At a flat 9.1 cents per gal., it's easy to collect and reasonably fair, since the more you use the roads, the more you pay for them. It also discourages things we want to discourage: dependence on foreign oil, the trade deficit, pollution and traffic. As taxes go, this one's a winner...
RAISING THE TOP BRACKET. Right now the top marginal tax rate rises to 33% for people earning roughly $50,000 to $200,000, then falls back down to 28%. It's hard to argue that this is fair, though I've loved every minute of it. If the top marginal rate stuck at 33% -- for the rich and not just the upper middle class -- it would raise billions that could be used to lower other taxes...
...notion of indexing gains to inflation -- to tax only "real" gains -- would add a whole new level of complication in computing taxes. And is it fair? It insulates those with real estate and stocks and fine art from the effects of inflation but not those without appreciable assets, whom inflation hits hardest. (Homeowners already have big tax breaks. They're allowed to roll gains tax-free from one home to the next and, at 55, avoid tax altogether on $125,000.) Furthermore, insulating voters from inflation makes them more tolerant of it and thus its rise more likely...
...fair, there were logistical reasons for the disparity. The USAir accident took place only a taxi ride away from the headquarters of the three networks and many other news organizations -- indeed, a CBS News producer was in the plane when it crashed and filed a report from the wreckage -- while the remains of the UTA airliner were scattered over 40 sq. mi. of remote desert. The LaGuardia crash offered both the surefire appeal of a happy ending for most passengers and a host of survivors available for interviews. The apparent cause of the USAir crash was quickly identified as pilot...