Huck has no kids, and no plans of having any, so I hope to either leave substantial unrecoverable debt behind (just kidding--I think), or leave whatever assets I have to charity. When it comes to taxation, the gubmint's gonna get theirs one way or the other. I prefer they get it from someone else. I say keep the estate tax, but lower the % and raise the exemption to make it realistic for modern times.
IslandJeff has no kids either, and will probably clear his life just in the black - nowhere exponentially near Warren (or even Jimmy) Buffett.
My thoughts drift toward families that have taken risks (even pooling capital), and started successful businesses. Anything from a corner franchise convenience store to a ten-partner law firm.
The insatiable maw of the convuluted and (deliberately) complicated Federal Tax Code works against prosperity and, arguably, against innovation that might just very well come from us plebians.
Sometimes Right is just Right.
God Bless,
J-
So the basic premise that wealth belongs to the government is ok as long as it's tweaked properly to exclude some folks while still retaining the ability to "screw the rich".