Penalizing the blue states

The almost-impossible-to-believe proposed tax code changes proposed by the Bush administration, whereby state and local taxes would no longer be deductible from federal tax, is beginning to take on an air of inevitability, claims from New York Democratic senators notwithstanding. It probably may actually help our cause that the governors of NY and CA are Repugnants. "Ownership society" my ass: the deductibility of local property taxes is the main devices allowing people of modest means to own their own houses. I think it's an extremely important deduction, even though it discriminates against renters.

(In an ideal, never-to-exist United States, I'd like to see either some sort of tax deduction for renters, or an entirely revamped system where there is a baseline per-family-member deduction -- essentially making basic-level housing payable from untaxed funds.)