U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer says it”™s time to kill the alternative minimum tax, or at the very least, change the formula to protect the middle class from being taxed to extinction.
“It”™s a nightmare for the country and never meant to hurt the middle-class wage earner. It was passed in the 1960s as a way to tax multimillionaires. Now, it bites down to people with incomes as low as $75,000. We have a lot of deductions, and the AMT cuts back on them.”
While Congress has managed to hold it in check this year, Schumer said the time has come to put the AMT to rest permanently. Schumer, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, said “there”™s a good chance we”™ll be able to get rid of the AMT.”
Schumer made his remarks March 10 to the Orange County Chamber of Commerce.
Taxpayers with children in college will be happy to learn legislation is being introduced to raise the current $4,000 deduction to $12,000 a year. Small business can deduct up to $250, 0000 in 2008, up from $125,000 in 2007. Schumer says Congress has increased the number of businesses that can take advantage, since the guidelines have risen for businesses with $500,000 or less in income to $800,000.
Bonus depreciation for firms investing in their own companies is up to 50 percent for 2008, while losses in 2007 can be carried over to 2008.
Schumer acknowledged the shaky economy, saying that a true indicator of how the country”™s doing should be focused on job growth rather than unemployment numbers. “Domestic programs are starving, and Medicare and Medicaid expenses are through the roof. We”™re pushing the federal envelope for relief. And don”™t forget the war in Iraq ”“ a huge expense.”
Transportation
“When I became senator, the number one goal was to see Stewart Airport happen. Now, it”™s come to fruition with JetBlue, Air Tran and Skybus bringing ridership way up. But that means more baggage, and the need for more security.”
Just as the airport began to grow, Schumer said, “The Transportation Safety Administration decided to cut staff. So we have been pushing to get the TSA to reverse the cuts. We were down to 25 screeners ”“ now we are up to 60.”
With 900,000 pieces of luggage, screening each bag with a hand wand just didn”™t cut it. Schumer says ultra modern screening devices now in place at the airport are streamlining the wait time and increasing passenger satisfaction. “Now we are trying to raise Stewart from a category 4 to a category 3 airport; that means our own federal security director and access to all the modern technology available.”
Schumer said the best thing that could happen to the region was the economic boost Stewart will provide. He also praised the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for creating a citizens advisory panel. “We don”™t want the Port Authority to impose its will upon us. If they are willing to take (an advisory panel”™s) advice, we will do well.”
From planes to trains, Schumer says the authority”™s access to the region”™s core project, which is to include a tunnel under the Hudson River, should be built to connect the west side of the Hudson directly with Manhattan, eliminating the need to change trains to get into midtown.
“A direct ride from Orange and Rockland counties into Manhattan is a must for future growth,” pledging to get matching funding for the venture if the Port Authority will agree to making a one-ride commute possible for west of the Hudson rail users.
The Route 17 conversion to Interstate 86 is another transportation infrastructure improvement that needs to be pushed to the forefront for the Hudson Valley, Schumer said. “It was meant to be a three-lane highway from the beginning … while work is going on to remove traffic lights in the Elmira region, the key at the eastern end is to make the transition to other roads smoother; it is one of the biggest traffic problems along the route,” referring to the Exit 16 interchange at Harriman, where Route 17 connects with the Thruway.
Rail service, once the backbone of America”™s transportation industry, has been resurrected, due in large part to the rising costs of diesel and the stress trucks have put on the state”™s infrastructure. CSX is putting $45 million in upgrades under Michael Ward, its new CEO. “The pendulum is swinging,” said Schumer of the renewed interest in rail for transporting goods. About $8.5 million of the $45 million will be spent in the Hudson Valley during 2008, “with more next year and in 2010,” Schumer told the crowd.
“Every year, we are giving billions of dollars to governments we don”™t like; it”™s time to lessen our dependency on foreign oil.” Schumer suggested looking domestically for oil by exploring the eastern Gulf of Mexico, which he claimed has 10 times the natural oil and gas that Alaska has. “We did it in the west gulf,” said Schumer, saying exploration on the eastern gulf will not hurt Florida. “It will be done hundreds of miles off the coast.”
Health care
Schumer said the two most frequently asked questions of those coming to the Hudson Valley are: “How good are the schools?” and “How is the quality of health care?”
Schumer said all hospitals are receiving fair reimbursements, save for St. Luke”™s-Cornwall Hospital, which is struggling for parity. “Overall,” said Schumer, “a cut to hospital money for the northeast and midwest this year and over the next four years. We are facing major health-care cuts in Congress, which we are working hard to change.”
While several national health plans have been proposed, so far, says Schumer, none have proved to be the magic bullet. California”™s endeavor has failed and people who point to the Canadian plan might change their minds, said Schumer, if they lived closer to the Canadian border. “No one has a good plan. All the people in Buffalo see is people coming across the border into the U.S. for health care. It”™s a problem our next president will have to tackle.”
Some changes that Schumer said can streamline and improve the U.S. system: “One form; why can”™t we implement this? If health providers, drug companies all use the same form, it can save between $30 billion to $60 billion.”
An ounce of prevention is also worth a pound of cure, intoned the senior senator. “Prevention and early intervention saves lives and makes us healthier.” When it comes to the four “Cs” of cancer”“ lung (no early detection is available yet); breast; colon; and prostate ”““If you get the screenings when you are due for them, you have a $200 to $300 bill. We can reduce cancer debt within three to five years if providers pay for early intervention.”
Schumer is stumped by the industry, which “will only pay for the illness and do not want to reimburse doctors and hospitals for prevention … they would rather pay for end-term rather than prevention.” While many medical plans cover preventative services, others do not. “They do it in Europe,” he said. “It”™s time to change the reimbursement plan and be smart here at home.”
Schumer also encouraged increasing the availability of defibrillators and called for a reassessment of the entire state to ensure accessibility of the life-saving devices, “not just in nursing homes but everywhere.”
