Feeling pushed, the Catholic Church pushes back

To complement the reports by my colleagues over on the news side (Michael Neibauer on the Washington Archdiocese-vs-the City Council on gay marriage, and Susan Ferrechio on the U.S. Bishops-vs-Congress on abortion subsidies), I have a special column today:

Typically averse to direct involvement in the political fray, the Catholic Church in the United States now finds itself fighting in Washington's policy trenches both on Capitol Hill and at City Hall....

The church's newfound political assertiveness likely results from changes in both the nature of the issues at hand and the makeup of the American clergy.

The battles in which the church finds itself embroiled today are not simply about the underlying moral issues -- abortion and gay marriage -- but about more aggressive policies that might restrict the ability of the church and of individual Catholics to act according to Catholic teachings.

Graham’s bill is accidental tax cut for wealthy

DC Councilman Jim Graham wanted to boost DC revenues and raise taxes on the wealthy, and so he introduced the "Equitable Income Tax Act of 2009." There's a problem, though: the bill would actually provide a massive tax CUT to those earning just over $500,000, and some tax cut to everyone between $500,000 and $9.6 million. I tell the tale in an Examiner piece today.

Ryan Ellis, tax policy director at Americans for Tax Reform, which opposes all tax increases, says the bill would reduce taxes. “The bill as written is a massive tax cut for D.C. households making over $500,000 per year.” Ellis added, “According to this bill, someone with taxable income of $499,999 would pay $41,300 in D.C. income tax. Someone making $500,001 would pay $5,000 in D.C. income tax.”

Read the whole piece here, and read Graham's bill here.