Congressional Republicans and President Bush refused to offset the cost of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) fix by imposing new taxes, particularly on wealthy hedge fund managers some of whom make in excess of 1 billion per year and who have been sheltered by a tax code quirk which allows them to receive a 20% tax break not available to other citizens.

By not offsetting the cost of the AMT fix, the national debt will increase by $50 billion. Full Story.