Posted on 08/14/2009 6:06:57 AM PDT by Kaslin
While the Washington press corps was fixated last week on the latest developments surrounding President Obama’s trillion dollar co-pay in the guise of health reform, followed by backyard beer swilling, IRS bean counters quietly went about their business.
Their mission? Find a way to pay for the massive zeroes this administration continues to add at the end of the government’s mounting debt. In what some privately likened to an ancient an archaeological find teeming with treasure, revenue agents discovered a potential $80 million golden pot of money – at the home of Michael Jackson.
That’s what the Feds stand to collect if they enforce a massively onerous and confiscatory tax on the King of Pop’s estate, affectionately referred to as the death tax. And you can bet they’re coming to a neighborhood near you.
Until President Bush’s tax reforms of 2001 that lowered the levy to 45%, the death tax in America ranked second only to Japan as the highest in the world – stifling enterprise in subtle yet noticeable ways.
The Obama Administration, however, has no plans to keep the Bush reductions in effect. They have too many bills to pay to surrender the approximately $60 billion in revenue the tax generates each year.
But what the Left fails to recognize is that by keeping the tax in place (or worse, allowing it to return to pre-Bush levels), they are planting the federal boot on the necks of an emerging class of survivors from this economic crisis.
Both sides frame the debate as an issue of fundamental fairness – spreading the wealth versus keeping what is rightfully yours. But when Americans are posed the question directly, the death tax is decreasingly one of social justice with left and right parameters, but instead a fatally-shortsighted policy with a base of support shifting beyond traditional party lines.
According to a recent survey conducted by Strategy 360, the polling arm of Dutko Worldwide, 55 percent of America’s “middleman” – the independent voter – favored a continued phase-out of the estate tax.
When told that the phase-out could create 1.5 million small business jobs (one-third of those promised by President Obama), according to a report by former CBO director Doug Holtz-Eakin, the margin of support among independents expands to 64%-28%. And when they hear that economic conditions make this the wrong time to raise taxes, support among independents expands to 63%-29%. Predictably, Democrats were less likely to support a phase-out, but even a 49% plurality favored the policy over establishing a permanent tax rate.
What’s apparently changed about this issue is not the party affiliation, but rather the age and income classes of those opposing the White House’s plan. This is not a rich landholder versus poor worker clash. The Dutko 360 poll uncovered that Americans favor the phase-out regardless of income, with support ranging from 53% among those with household incomes under $35,000 to 70% among those with household incomes of at least $100,000.
Think younger voters don’t care about death and taxes? Think again. The Dutko 360 poll surveyed adults ages 18-34 and found 61% of this demographic wanted the death tax buried. Folks, this ain’t your granddaddy’s tax anymore.
Fearing that nearly half of earned assets will be lost at death, the emerging class with visions to accumulate capital with age seeks to claim its stake in what some have characterized as an otherwise end-of-life debate.
And therein lies the fundamental problem for the Democrat Party when it comes to forming economic policies. The Left’s logic fails to recognize a fantastical aspiration every American strives toward – the insatiable drive of income mobility. It’s a political blind spot that has haunted them for generations. Yes, there are millions of Americans who earn no more than $30,000 per year, and struggle to make ends meet on that relative pittance. But more importantly, name me one who plans to stay at that income level, if they have anything to say about it?
The push to increase the death tax strikes at the heart of enterprise in this country because it clumsily tries to snuff it out. According to the Left, wealth is an inherent evil. Is an inheritance now, too? Has class envy by a select few forced Baron Barrack to declare heirs an enemy of the state? We think you died with too much. We want to spread that around. And since you're dead, it’s not theft.
The certainty of death and tax articulated by Poor Richard at this nation’s birth was hardly a permission slip to tax at death. Especially in a starving economic environment, investing into businesses is critical. We have a policy here that is expected to actually create (not just save) jobs, in addition to stimulating over a trillion dollars of Made-in-America capital. Yet sadly, today’s economic debate has devolved into worthless banter over “Cash for Clunkers” which takes billions out of the government so participants can purchase Japanese Toyotas and German Volkswagens.
While entrepreneurial Americans are working at the grassroots to reconstruct today’s broken economy, the federal budget is utilizing the death tax to constrain the long-term intergenerational effects of small business development. In 1980, Lawrence Summers coauthored a study that explained “intergenerational transfers account for the vast majority of aggregate U.S. capital formation.” Yet today, President Obama’s chief economic advisor discourages the very actions that he once argued would boost the country’s financial system.
When government sends a check to dead people, its called fraud. When government expects a check from dead people, it’s called paying your fair share. Until a pop icon’s assets were threatened by auction with the IRS, this job-killing policy escaped public debate. Yet no amount of class war mongering will suppress Americans from aspiring to one day achieve financial success and independence.
The Survivor Class is emerging from the economic ashes. It’s time to give them the boost they need to create and grow capital and investment that doesn’t end on death’s doorstep.
The really chilling part is that makes perfect sense, no, not just that, but that some very (otherwise) intelligent people, with a whole lot of power, are sitting around somewhere dreaming this up, pitching it to associates, delegating tasks: marketing, legal, damage control, etc. and presumably all without the tiniest prick of conscience. If this isn't worthy of a comparison to the Nazis, I don't know what is.
Marx must laugh loud. He said that an America untethered from morals would employ that capitalistic energy and innovation toward totalitarian ends.
Fight now or never.
I am personally the beneficiary of a poverty imposed on what had been one of America's wealthiest families by the creation of the federal income tax and the federal death tax.
There is no argument that can be made by anyone that will persuade me to support the legitimacy of either tax. I go along with them only because the practitioners of this particular form of robbery continue to hold all the guns and the keys to the jail cells. That, however, does not make what they are doing just or moral.
Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, w/o Hope and w/o God in the world. Eph 2:12
The need to push through JoCare is a must so the gummit can steal all the oldsters’ $$. The only way these Stalinists can keep this Ponzi scheme going is to take the peoples estates and turn them over to the Gum-state. This is how all dictators maintain their power and have the money to keep the masses satisfied. First you make the gummit the determiner for who lives and dies and then you change the estate laws so they take everything you own.
While reading The Joker’s book, The Audacity of Hope; one of the statements that stuck out was his insistence on the gummit’s need to seize everyone’s estates. He may have said everything over a $million so we know he meant everything. He is a extreme socialist/communist who thinks that they own everything that everybody owns, since it was earned in America. They believe that if it is earned in America than it needs to be returned to the poor who that money was stolen.
The reason Premier Hussain and Nazi Pelosi needs to ram Socialist Healthcare through congress is to get the foundation of the gummit seizing everything you own. When our healthcare is taken out of our doctors’ control and turned over to an IRS type agent, then there will be a computer decision for life and death. The agent will have your entire net worth, health history and political affiliation in front of them to help make that decision. Likely it will be done by computer to decide life or death. If you are over 70 yrs old those death rations will be made more and more frequently. The computer will be programed to say no to a 75 yr old cancer surgery so the $$$ can be used to save a 25 yr old AIDS patient. Never mind that they both have the same life expectancy, one is politically protected.
The next step is to say that our Country is out of money and we need more ways to find tax revenue to pay for this abortion. The last thing a socialist will do is to cut taxes since that allows people to make decisions for themselves. This is the antithesis of the Socialist Party since as they are showing in the FEMACare debate, they need to control every part of your life. Just like FDR who wanted to raise tax rates on everything over $100K to 99.5% and did raise it to 79% and eventually 100% over 25K during the war, they will never lower taxes to raise revenue. The other thing FDR did is begin the hatred of the Rich, which was the start of the #1 tactic they still use. This means the only way they will raise revenue is to increase the Estate Taxes on the Rich. Premier Hussain will raise these taxes to 100% over a million or some level he calls Rich.
This is the ultimate plan of the DNC and the Joker to make everybody slaves of the state. As this Country slips into more and more desperate times, these ideas will become more and more palatable to the masses. They will allow the gummit to tax them at 50-70% in exchange for HC and every other welfare need. Rather than Soylent Green this gummit is setting the system up to ration/withhold HC from the elderly and take their estates from them to pay for this Soviet system. This will make sure that the elderly don’t spend their savings or give it to their children before they die. The gummit is going to make sure death comes as early as possible.
This is the perfect system for the DNC. They have put in place death counseling/rationing for the elderly to make you sacrifice your life for the lives of the young. You will be told that you are a burden on your children and the sooner you die the better for everybody, especially Big Brother. There will be a line item thrown into that Life/Death Matrix that will determine your net worth and estimated Estate Tax to help make that determination. Is there any question which way those computerized thumbs will be turned? This is about as tough a decision for the DNC as Late Term Abortion Federal Funds. Any questions?
We have the most heartless and hatefilled man to ever hold the WH. He has no compassion for anyone in this Country and only wants to pay back Rich Whites for the crimes he believes they are guilty. This Party is the Party of Death and believes any means justifies their ends. They have no passion for people, just the unending hunger for power. This is the first step to control every portion of our lives including our length of life. These people worship gummit as their god and if this passes they will have ultimate control of Life and Death. After they decide who is born and who dies, they will take everything to expand their over bloated largess. These Extreme Left Wingers are going to sacrifice us to their god and give our savings as their offerings.
Pray for America and the Tea Parties
there should be NO death tax of any kind....you died....your bills are paid and the government can go to hell...
Oh, horse feathers !
They know it, and they like it.
Were I one of the “rich” I would be quietly putting my wealth into gold and giving 10 oz bars to my kids each and every day. Screw Hussein and the rest of the left. After all, they don’t pay taxes!
***When government sends a check to dead people, its called fraud.***
What’s it called when dead people cash the check? ;-)
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