I’ve long thought that the end game of the Bush/Cheney regime is not really world domination, or creating some sort of religious theocracy. At nearly every step of the way, this administration has really only been consistent at one thing – allowing, or enabling, catastrophic disaster, and then taking advantage by enriching themselves and their corporate cronies.It happened in Iraq . It happened in the Gulf Coast. It happened with nearly every piece of legislation supported by the President and passed by the current Republican Congress, from “No Child Left Behind” to the prescription drug bill. It has always been about accumulating wealth, whenever possible, at the expense of the middle-class taxpayer.
This is why I believe that the real end game is to repeal the estate tax, so that they can guarantee that the wealth they have accumulated while in power can remain in their families for future generations. Along with several other issues designed to rally the GOP base, Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn, will soon be pushing a Senate vote on the estate tax. Basically, it is nothing more that the ugliest, most extreme, form of predatory capitalism in which the ultra-wealthy try to force the poor and middle class “out of business,” just because they can!
They try to twist it around by calling it a “death tax,” but at a time when many families are being forced to pay the ultimate “death tax” as they lose their children to an unnecessary and poorly planned war that is now costing an unbelievable $10 Billion a month, we cannot allow the Republicans to push the estate tax issue forward even the slightest bit.
Fortunately, it seems that many are starting to see through the cynical rhetoric of estate tax opponents, many of whom, like Frist himself, have seen their estates grow significantly under their own “leadership”. Nevertheless, if there were ever an issue that the Democrats should be willing to stop by any means, this is it. Because if the Republicans win on this one, it’s checkmate!
I'm not sure that the repeal of the estate tax is the "ultimate" goal of this administration, but I do believe that it would be the ultimate bitch-slap of the average American by the Old Money and corporate criminal classes that this administration most ably represents. What kills me is that so many otherwise intelligent people are taken-in by the "death tax" rhetoric. If there is one form of income that SHOULD be taxed the MOST heavily, it is the unearned, and often undeserved income that the rich bestow on their offspring upon their passing. Why should you or I be taxed on the money we earn through honest, productive work, while Paris Hilton stands to collect BILLIONS, tax free, based on an accident of birth? And don't give me that "it's already been taxed" crap. Baron Hilton's earnings were taxed. When the Baron kicks the solid gold bucket, they ain't his earnings anymore. He's DEAD! His former earnings will rain down like manna from heaven on his sleazy ho daughters, and they damn well should have to pay AT LEAST as high a percentage to Uncle Sam as I do of my pitiful salary!
ReplyDeleteLWJ-Point taken that it's not the "ultimate goal" to end the estate tax. Enriching themselves was the ultimate goal! Ending the estate tax is the clincher that allows them to keep it in the family, even if they hoarded more than they can spend in a lifetime!
ReplyDeleteShow the public how most people feel by voting against repeal of the estate tax
ReplyDeletehttp://moneycentral.msn.com/content/CNBCTV/Promos/P151597.asp
There is no doubt that a repeal of the estate tax would benefit many in the current Administration and in the private sector. As Harold Meyerson pointed out in a Washington Post editorial last week,
ReplyDelete"an estate tax repeal would save the estate of Vice President Cheney between $13 million and $61 million, according to the publicly available data on his net worth. It would save the estate of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld between $32 million and $101 million. The estate of retired Exxon Mobil chairman Lee Raymond would pocket a cozy $164 million."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/30/AR2006053001182.html
I am working with the Coalition for America's Priorities to raise awareness about the effects of a repeal of the estate tax. This is the last issue the Senate should address while they continue to raise the debt limit, are running huge deficits, and have trmenedous financial obligation both at home and aborad. A repeal would cost $75 billion a year and $1 trillion overall.
I would urge everyone to take a look at the Coalition's website to learn more and to contact your Senators ASAP about this issue. Thanks.
http://www.coalition4americaspriorities.com/