Budget Double Talk

Overall, yesterday's interview of Rep. Garrett on The Brian Lehrer Show was actually interesting. The one point to make, to his credit, is that he criticised the President's budget for not dealing with the AMT. He laid out the importance of such a reform for our area, and much of the Northeast. It seemed as though he was on a roll, but then he applauds the President for proposing a budget that can be balanced in five years. By the time of the interview, Garrett had to know the way the President's plan is drawn there won't be AMT relief. While he sounds sensible in the interview, he is once again engaging in double talk and being "disingenuous" (must have been his word of the day, because he kept saying it). If the only way, in a real sense, that the President's financial outlook can balance the budget is by ensnaring more middle income families in the AMT, we need Garrett serving as a roadblock and not simply a worn down speed bump talking out of both sides of his mouth.