The Death Tax Haunts Us All

The House voted last week to immortalize the Death Tax by killing next year’s moratorium on the Grim Reaper’s boon to the Federal Government. So, estates in excess of $3.5 million will be taxed at a permanent 45% rate. Democrats, who passed the measure without Republican support, hailed their move. To them, it’s only fair for families to pay a debt to the nation that allowed them to create their wealth.

There are so many things wrong here, on so many different levels, that it’s hard to know where to begin. How about this? These families have already paid their debt in the form of income, and every other, tax the government levied for decades on their “wealth”. So, the Death Tax is a tax on what has already been taxed. You can dress that pig up anyway you want, but she’s still nothing more than a penalty for success.

Then there’s the fact that the Tax only hits an estimated 1% of all estates. So, the money it adds to the Federal coffers is miniscule, especially in these heady days of drunken deficit spending. The money means a lot more to the families than to the Government. Yet, like their loved ones, it is taken from them.

But, those aren’t the biggest problems. Not by far. There’s something very wrong about a Government profiting from the death of its citizens. Especially one that also wants to control end-of-life decisions under the guise of “managing” healthcare costs. It’s like they’ve spun themselves into a whole new breed of turkey vulture. One that can actually kill its prey. Wouldn’t it be better to skip that bit of evolution?

The other down and dirty problem is just as scary in its own way. Congress is grabbing economic control of the Country as fast as it can. To get it totally, they have to do two things: take your money and spend it the way they want. You can’t be left with the cash because money makes you independent while the absence of it makes you dependent. Also, they have to suck up every nickel and dime, like a giant vacuum cleaner, so they can feed the special interests that support them.

This taking and giving is key to control. It puts the Government in charge, of the economy, of your job, of the quality of your life, of you. That, coupled with one or two industry takeovers, like healthcare, makes you totally dependent on them. They say jump and you don’t even get to ask how high.

So, when the Democrats claim that the Death Tax only affects the “rich”, don’t you believe them. It’s part of a huge problem that affects everyone. The problem of the Government taking control of all of our lives right down to the bitter end.

What to do about it? We cannot sit idly by, thinking there’s nothing to be done or that someone else is doing it. We, you, have to take action. Get riled up. Contact your Congress people and give them a piece of your mind. Then vote them out of office if they ignore you. Or, we’ll all be dangling on the puppet strings of Federal control.

See you in the mirror.