2 separate issues - tax cuts and water. Basically the Republicans feel the federal government knows better than/is superior to the state governments. Or was that the Democrats? I'm confused. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/07/national/07FISH.html "This administration has always said the best science is in the states, that the states are closer to the people," Mr. Birdsong said. "The fact that they are discounting the state experts is a little disheartening. It is more than that. It is hypocritical." http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/07/business/07PLAC.html But the dividend plan could hurt those same state and local governments, by raising their borrowing costs and reducing their tax revenues. Individual investors seeking to minimize their taxes have long purchased municipal bonds, issued by state and local governments, because they owe no federal income tax on the interest, and often no state income tax either. "The principal attraction of muni bonds is that the interest income is exempt," said Robert Willens, a tax analyst at Lehman Brothers. "If dividends were exempt, and you also had the potential of capital gains, some stocks would look a lot more attractive than muni bonds."
What is it about allowing people to keep more of the money that they earn that bothers you so much? Dividends are already taxed as corporate income. Why should they be taxed again when the AFTER-TAX profits are distributed to the owners of the business, the shareholders?