Red vs. Blue

Hmm, someone has taken my post-election suggestions (also, here and here) to heart, though not perhaps in the way I had envisioned:

Proposal Would Hit Blue State Taxpayers

…

Some conservative activists are urging the Bush administration to scrap the federal deduction for state and local taxes as part of a broader plan to revamp the nation’s tax system.

Although the proposal would hurt some taxpayers in nearly every state, it would hit hardest in states with higher-than-average income levels and bigger-than-average state and local tax burdens. High on the list are a number of blue states — those that were carried by Democrat Sen. John F. Kerry in last month’s presidential election.

Via Pandagon. I think this is a fantastic idea. While Bush didn’t carry any of the big Blue states (e.g., CA, NY, IL), they nevertheless constituted a large portion of his donations, precisely because those states have so much more money, both in the aggregate and per capita. For example, while only 42% of California’s donations went to Republicans, that still amounted to $82 million. Similarly, Republicans got $46 million from New Yorkers. I’d love to see those spigots turned off.

AB