Great discussion on Wonkbook on the suddenly hot topic of tax reform, as encapsulated in one small business owner’s quote:

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‘Get rid of the deductions that don’t affect me.’

“Revenue neutral” tax reform means there are winners and losers. Some will pay more, some less. Guess who? Think for a minute how many lobbyists in Washington are paid to represent the interests of low- and middle-income taxpayers in this debate.

Hard-core Republicans, of course, just want cuts — in all taxes and all of government. But that only engenders a new discussion on services, with this imagined quote:

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Get rid of only the government services that don’t affect me.

Those services won’t mean to the lobbyist community advanced weapon systems, farm subsidies and other corporate-friendly government spending, from research and infrastructure to preferential tax treatment.

Here’s the New York Times article on President Obama’s ideas with the quote that launched Wonkbook’s discussion.

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The video above is President Obama talking to a crowd at an Amazon distribution center in Chattanooga about his plan. The cheers indicate the Walter Hussman editorial page staff at the Chattanooga newspaper were, if on hand, drowned out.

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