Fiscal cliff

As I listen to the talk about the pending fiscal cliff, I am nothing but amused. The Democrats say they want to raise the top tax rate from 35% to 39.6% and that will raise $90 billion per year from the rich. The Republicans say they want to keep the tax rate at 35% but cap the deductions at $40,000 and that will raise $90 billion from the rich since only rich people have more than $40,000 in deductions. If you are rich you can decide how you take your deductions. For example you can choose to deduct mortgage interest on your million dollar home or you can give money to charity and deduct that. The Republicans should agree to raise $90 billion by either method but first there must be cuts in spending. In the past congress has agreed to raise taxes and cut spending and they did raise taxes but they did not cut spending. The spending cuts have to come first or at the same time as tax increases. The only advantage in talking about taxes is avoiding talking about entitlements and everyone knows that something has to be done about social security, Medicare and Medicaid.