Quote:
Originally Posted by Seth
I agree about estate tax being illegal. What happens when you can't pay that tax? Seizure of property? doesn't seem proper when one works so hard to maintain a lifestyle and another tax is introduced which effectively hands ownership to the state. Or is the estate tax something different.
|
Estate taxes are also called "Death Taxes" because they tax an estate's wealth after the principle owner dies. The problem is that the wealth is being taxed a second time, as they already paid taxes on it when they were alive. On top of this, there are huge problems when the wealth is not liquid, but is instead in investments like annuities or even worse, property. It often forces the inheritor to sell the investment to pay the taxes on it, and land that has been in a family for generations is then forced into sale to cover expenses. The rich buy the property, and then profit from it.
Estate taxes destroy the ability of the middle class to build welath over generations, and they enforce the status quo as the rich get richer and the middle class reains middle class, instead of helping the MC overcome established class lines.
Quote:
|
As far as Obama, I don't see a bright future with him or McCain. As prof pointed out, much has been spent on the bailout, and there's a good chance that it could be all for nothing...except hyper-enflation.
|
I'm willing to give Obama a chance. So far he's batting a thousand, but again, thatmight be because he hasn't swung at a pitch yet. I agree though that this unthinkably stupid spending is going to end up biting us in the ass if we don't shift our international economic policy. The FED moving paper isn't going to keep inflation down for long.