Reply #23: Man, won't this put the 'economy' in the dumper! First, it will be an

[sinkingfeeling]

overall tax increase to those in the middle and lower income brackets. The workin' Joe will have 'income' added from being taxed on company healthcare. No deductions for all those state & local taxes, including personal property and property taxes. No deduction for the mortgage interest (that some middle class folks have been getting their buying power from via equity loans). Giving up personal exemptions. All in all, the average middle class family could see there taxable income almost double!

With no way to finance big ticket items and increased taxes, I would think they'll be staying out of the malls and maybe even out of Wal-Mart. In certain areas, they will be killing off the housing starts since people will not be able to afford the homes.

Guess, we'll just have to start a few more wars to keep the 'economy' rolling along.