Written by Walter Hecht   

Loopholes in Federal tax laws were originally enacted to aid struggling industries by subsidizing them with lower rates or accelerated depreciation or some other mechanism. Many loopholes were put into place during the period 1953 to 1959 when Ohio Congressman John H. Loophole* was the Republican chairman of the Ways and Means committee of the House of Representatives. Now 50 years later, many of those loopholes have outlived their usefulness, but industry is unwilling to give them up. Who outside of the oil industry would argue that Big Oil needs an $8 billion per year tax break? Very few I believe.

President Obama has proposed a balanced alternative to the looming sequester, a balanced approach that raises revenue and reduces future expenditures. Republicans in Congress are unwilling to even consider raising revenue by closing some loopholes.
*fictitious