You say a “cop and a teacher” together make $150,000 in America? You might want to reconsider that claim. Maybe in the suburbs of New York City, but nowhere else. Salary.com indicates that the median pay for a police officer is around $50,000 and for a teacher around $46,000. Only 5 percent of American households report earnings higher than $157,000 a year. The alternative minimum tax is set to capture 20 percent of American households by 2010, and for most that will represent a tax increase. If Democrats seize on AMT reform and Republicans resist it in order to defend the 35 percent tax bracket, they will get the upper hand on an issue that has favored the GOP for nearly 30 years. (Thanks to e-mailers Nels P and Jeremy M.)