One of the items at the top of the Republicans' post-recess agenda was a permanent repeal of the estate tax. But the disaster along the Gulf Coast and the tremendous harm it wrought on the region's poor people have taken this issue off the table, at least temporarily.
In recent years, the Republicans have tried to recast the estate tax as the death tax, fabricating sob stories of family farmers and small business owners who have been devastated by the tax. In reality, though, the tax impacts a minuscule number of people, encourages charitable giving, and rarely, if ever, has cost a family its business. Nonetheless, the Bush Administration continues its march toward returning America to a Dickensian England-like state.
Stopping this repeal is one bit of good Hurricane Katrina did.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
1 comment:
How sad that Katrina had to blow out New Orleans to put a (temporary only) stop to this outrageous idea. Only the already richer than they have any right to be have enough of an "estate" to be thus taxed in the first place.
Post a Comment