As the appetite for tax reform grows, perhaps voters should be wary of Democrats' lip service for progressivity when they seem willing and eager to drop the only truly progressive tax in the code.

Remember the dismissive term "Banana Republic?" When I was growing up 50 years ago, it was used to mock Latin American dictators for operating oligarchies that preyed off their poorer citizens. Today, increasingly, it describes the United States of America.

One of the most disappointing parts of this week's budget deal is its disparate treatment of a lavish estate tax break for the nation's wealthiest heirs as compared to several tax credit improvements for low-income working families.

Some Republicans don't know a victory when they see one. All you hear out of presidential hopeful Marco Rubio and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is doom and gloom but this is a case of not seeing the forest for the trees.

Much like the NeoCon chickenhawks who urge the country to wars but never volunteer themselves, not a single critic, in Congress or out, would have suffered as the unemployed without unemployment insurance had the president not negotiated this deal.

* States could get $3 billion in estate taxes-study * 30 states would be affected By Nanette Byrnes Dec 2...

If liberals want to preserve the estate tax, the most progressive tax of all, they need to dedicate its revenues to a specific program, not just deficit reduction. But not all programs are created equal.

Policymakers hope to cut federal deficits by trillions of dollars over the next decade, imposing painful sacrifices on millions of Americans. So it's astonishing that they're also considering million-dollar tax cuts for a few thousand of the nation's wealthiest heirs and heiresses.

WASHINGTON - A coalition of three dozen ultra-wealthy progressives, including billionaire Warren Buffett, former President Jimmy Carter, philanthropis...

No. But there are several interesting elements, particularly among the combined $1.6 trillion in new tax revenue. Obama has spent most of the past ...

(Repeats to additional subscribers) * Rural-state Democrats differ with president on estate tax * Clock ticking on tax's...

There's going to be pain all around in whatever deal is struck. Most Americans are going to be directly impacted in one way or another by whatever bargain is made between President Obama and congressional Republicans.

Republicans aren't talking about extending tax breaks for the 98 percent. Instead, they're threatening the economic life of the country if they don't get what they want -- tax breaks for people who don't need them.

By buying down tax rates from the bottom up, the savings are shared equally. Where would the final balance between spending cuts and tax hikes come out, and which spending programs would be curtailed?

WASHINGTON -- If the estate tax is restored to a level similar to its rate before the Bush-era tax cuts went into effect, the federal government could...