posted July 6, 2006
) Terry Stulce |
If Congress approves this bill and it is signed into law, it will mean our treasury will realize an additional deficit of
$283,000,000,000 (that's BILLION) over the next decade, a time when our soaring national deficit can least afford this additional blow.
Consider this. The resolution was approved by a vote of 226-194. Republicans voted 224-0 in favor of considering the bill to repeal the estate tax. So, I don't have to tell you how our current representative Zach Wamp voted.
Now the Republicans in Washington would like for you to believe a permanent elimination of the Estate Tax will result in tax savings to average Americans like you and me. But they grossly distort the facts in this effort. Here's one example of this distortion and disinformation:
Following the passage of this resolution, Republican House Majority Leader John Boehner publicly stated:
"... we've decided to try to do what we think is doable, by passing this death tax (bill) that will eliminate any possible death taxes for 99.999 percent of the American people."
What he very conveniently leaves out is that 99.4% of us are completely unaffected by this change. Why Because 99.4% of us do not have to pay it now! It is nothing but a tax break for the richest of our nation, a mere fraction of the wealthiest 1 %.
It is an effort by the Republican administration and Republican-dominated Congress to repay the lavish sums of money contributed to their party and their individual campaigns. What's perhaps even more appalling is they either don't believe or don't care that the American people are capable of seeing through this disguise.
If repealing the Estate Tax change affects you, then you must belong to a group similar to:
The CEO of the Pfizer pharmaceuticals corporation who, upon retirement, will continue to draw his salary of $6.1 million PER YEAR for the remainder of his life.
The recently retired head of AT&T who was granted a retirement of $2.1 million per year for the rest of his life; 60% of his annual salary during his five-year tenure.
But you're probably more likely to find yourself in the company of an accountant who, after 30 years of employment at AT&T, will draw a pension of $28,000 per year. This is somewhat less than expected due to changes in AT&T's pension plan in 1998.
Let's ask ourselves just what these men did during their tenures to deserve that kind of gratitude. Granted, these are private companies and can, with stockholder or board approval (and sometimes WITHOUT it, as in the case of Enron) allocate their money and resources as they see fit. Yet these examples serve to illustrate more and more of what is happening in our nation. It is a trend clearly not in the best interest of our political and economic system and it is with the bought and paid for blessings of the current administration and Congress.
The gap between the rich and the poor in this nation is widening to a record degree. As that gap widens, the number who are moving in one direction - down - far far surpasses the number of elite who prosper, sometimes less due to their hard work and ability and more due to favoritism and special privilege accorded them at the expense of the average U.S. taxpayer.
But you don't even have to take my word for it. Even billionaire Bill Gates wrote that repealing of the Estate Tax would represent a huge step backward for our economy and for our democracy.
Mr. Gates wrote:
Instead of taking steps that would strengthen our democracy, we're heading backward to the wealth inequalities of a century ago. We need to preserve the estate tax in states and at the federal level for exactly the reason it is under assault. In a democracy, we should be offended when the power of concentrated wealth brazenly attempts to shape the terms of policy debate and dictate the rules of our society.
Like so many other lies and distortions by this administration and its lockstep Congressional Republicans, "We the People" are seeing through them. I challenge every individual to subject the Estate Tax spin to the light of truth.
Terry Stulce
Candidate for U.S. Congress, Tennessee's 3rd District
* * *
Terry Stulce probably has more good faults than bad faults - I know I agree with him on the war, for example - but every time he writes to this site, he is emphasizing his philosophy of greed and envy.
Sure that makes him right at home in today's Democrat Party, but it is neither intelligent nor rational, and it is surely not a political approach to win him votes in Tennessee.
The whole premise of the "death tax" or the estate tax is, as I said, greed and envy: "That guy has a lot of money and I am envious that he can just hand it on to his children."
Well, it IS his money; he earned it; it is right that he can spend it as he wishes.
Sure I think Bill Gates and Warren Buffet and the Kennedys and Rockefellers would be doing the world a great service by leaving at least part of their respective fortunes to me; I know I wouldn't be spending it, as do the Kennedys, on booze and ... well, let's just say I wouldn't be frittering it away as they do.
I know I would spend the money on helping people, establishing charitable and educational institutions. And traveling.
See? It's perfectly all right to dream, to wish.
But I, unlike Terry Stulce, would never, not ever, want to pass a law to steal - and "steal" is an apt and accurate term - their estates to hand it over to someone I like better, such as, say, myself. Redistributing wealth is, again, the product of greed and envy.
It is immoral and it is impractical.
It is, in short, theft.
Letting people keep their own money, or their own property, is not granting favors; it is, rather, merely acting in a rational and, most important, moral manner.
One of the truths to which Mr. Stulce must awake is that governments must be limited in the amount of money they can so blithely steal from the working and producing people. Governments without those limits will inevitably indulge in acts Mr. Stulce and I both oppose, for example, wars of aggression.
Let people keep their own money; keep governments on a tight budget. Then we can have higher expectations of peace and freedom.
Michael Morrison
East Brainerd
morrisonhimself@earthlink.net
* * *
I cannot say enough about Mr. Stulce and his attitude about "rich" people. If you make it fair and honestly (even if it is a corporation), it does NOT belong to the government. Period.
All I have to say is Mr Stulce is "wrong" and I commend Mr. Morrison's reponse as "right."
Richard Elrod
rlelrod@comcast.net
* * *
Stulce's view on the estate tax is reason alone to elect Zach Wamp to another term. The tax and spend Democrats just do not get it. America is tired of paying taxes and then seeing it wasted on pork barrel projects.
It is time for a complete overhaul of the tax system. We do not need an inexhaustible list of taxes that can be used as political footballs. We need one tax - a flat consumption tax.
This is the fairest of all taxes. Those who make more will spend more and will ultimately pay more in taxes. Exempt everyone over 65 and do not tax businesses for anything. Anyone who has even the basic understanding of how a business operates (small or large) knows that the consumer pays every tax through the price of the good or service purchased - inflated by the profit margin.
Set a fair tax rate and then let the local, state, and federal governments learn to live on a budget like the rest of us do.
J. Ross Greer
Ringgold, Ga.
theplaceofgrace@comcast.net
* * *
I just don't understand why Zach Wamp and the Republicans don't value hard work. The Republicans talk of lowering taxes for everybody. Instead, the Republicans have pursued a policy of shifting taxes from people who receive their money through inheritance to people who make their money by working.
The inheritance tax is neither a "wealth tax" nor a "death" tax. It is simply an income tax. It is a tax on income that a person receives not for any hard work, but merely for being born to the right parent. I believe we should let people keep most of their hard-earned money, but inheritance income is not hard-earned. Like most Americans, I value hard work.
Paris Hilton should be taxed on her unearned income at least as much as someone who earns his income by working 50 hours a week to feed his family. To cut all taxes on unearned income shows a contempt for the American value of hard work. Tommorow, we celebrate our independance from an aristocratic Europe, where lords and dukes (much like Republicans today) believed in the value of inherited wealth.
To celebrate our American heritage this 4th of July, tell Zach Wamp we Americans value hard work more than inherited health. We want a tax policy that reflects American values.
Isaiah O'Rear
Chattanooga
isaiah@uga.edu
* * *
The estate tax is not only fair, it is necessary to the continued success of the American economy. Americans have myriad causes of concern the estate tax helps alleviate. An out of control federal defect is only one concern, albeit a real one. While we can, and should, debate spending habits of the future, one cannot contest the existence of the Federal budget deficit, and its hazardous consequences for future Americans. The estate tax's existence is an important tool in combating this inevitability.
The estate tax itself only affects a small number of taxpayers. According to the I.R.S. it only affects, at most, the top 2% of Americans. Who among us falls into such a category? Furthermore, the few affected by the tax are still able to provide a great deal to their beneficiaries. Those whose incomes allow them to rise to the upper echelons of wealth are more than able to provide for their families while alive, and their wealth must be great to such an extent that even after the estate tax is levied a great deal of wealth will be transferred.
The fairness of the tax is tantamount to taxation on any wage one earns, or any large gift one receives. It is not a tax of greed, or a tax mired in the rhetoric of class warfare, it is a fair tax, and its continued existence must be preserved through the actions of Congress and Senate.
Matthew Close
Chattanooga
closematthew@hotmail.com
* * *
The opinions about the estate tax bill reflect a lack of understanding about the effect of estate taxes in this country.
Yes, there are those who are extremely wealthy including CEOs of large corporations. There are many more individuals that were born with very little and built businesses despite the necessity of paying income tax on every dime earned, by saving and investing in those businesses. There are also many who farm land that has been in their family for many generations and make very little income.
It is those that the bill is aimed at helping continue those business and farms as well as the employees they provide jobs for.
First it encourages folks to save, invest, and build businesses that are the backbone of the economy and then pass the reins to their children who continue to build and invest. Most folks do not work for large corporations and are certainly not CEOs.
Secondly, many farmers and small business owners do not have large sums of money but rather most of their savings are invested in their business. Estate tax forces many farms and businesses to be sold or closed in order to pay estate taxes. Real folks, who are not wealthy, lose their jobs as a result. Those that are sold, particularly farms, are usually sold to large companies or conglomerates and result in the further concentration of wealth in that few who liberals are so adamant have too much now.
The way to spread wealth in this country is to encourage all, including those who start with nothing, to have the opportunity to build and accumulate, paying income tax on each dime made, with the opportunity to pass what they have built on to the next generation who can continue to build and accumulate. Many business that would be considered small or medium in size were started by immigrants off the boat who started as small mom and pop operations and only grew into something more over several generations.
If the income tax and other taxes in place are not enough to provide basic government services, then we are spending too much not taxing too little.
David P. Hawley
dphawley@bellsouth.net
* * *
For those who have the net worth that is being described, like Warren Buffett, they generally donate a lot of their resources. They do not want to give it to the government. Why should they not be able do with their "net" resources, as in already taxed, as they please?
I do agree with an overhaul (simplification) of the tax system, where everybody that makes one dollar over, say, the poverty line, then that dollar, and every dollar after that is taxed at the same rate. Doesn't that sound simple?
Brian Foley
BFoley7517@aol.com
* * *
I read with amusement the diatribe by Mr. Stulce, congressional candidate, regarding the recent estate tax vote. You're right, Mr. Stulce...you DON'T have to tell me how our congressman votes. His record of achievements is readily available all over the Internet. His votes clearly mirror the traditional values of the district in which he represents, not just a small faction of disgruntled peaceniks.
Mr. Stulce seems more worried about the "redistribution of wealth" that would disallow those who have worked very hard to get where they are today and be able to do what they wish with the fortune they may have amassed.
But, I guess the he is one of the many who is out of touch with those around him. I've heard others say he is out of touch with the mainstream in the past. After all, he is the "chosen one" and has been the "chosen one" by the local New Democratic Party from the first day he announced his candidacy. The local NEW party quickly announced on their blogsite, "Meet Your New Congressman" long before the filing deadline was passed and other candidates had already picked up papers to run. Yes, Virginia, there IS another choice in the New Democratic Party running for Congress and his name is Bruce Benedict. But, I guess that's how the local NEW Democratic Party chooses to operate. One only has to sit and read the comments by a select few to see the disarray the NEW Democratic Party has created within itself.
Personally, I will vote for Bruce Benedict in the primary and will cast my November vote for Congressman Zach Wamp as several of his projects are close to my heart in the way they affect me. I will give praise to Mr. Benedict as he has tastefully spelled out how he stands on a lot of issues, unlike the liberal-leaning Stulce who only wants to talk about Vietnam. While I thank Mr. Stulce for his service to our country, I don't agree with his stance of cut and run. Mr. Benedict makes sense in his stance on supporting our troops around the world without going into the liberal handbook of saying how the Bush administration has failed the people fighting the war and their families, again unlike the NEW Democratic Party in Chattanooga.
I will support pro-life candidates Bruce Benedict AND Zach Wamp and tell Mr. James and Mr. Stulce to just lighten up.
Leonard Talley
leotalley2006@yahoo.com
* * *
It is sad to read such nonsense as people complaining of how the rich are not affected by the Estate Tax and how only we the poor are paying more than our share. This country was established on opportunities and the individual who excelled or grasp them would benefit from the rewards. Why should anyone pay tax on assets already taxed over and over? Rich has nothing to do with what is right and the government needs to remove their hand from the citizens' pocket.
I agree the tax system needs an overhaul and I would argue that taxing inheritance is wrong. Many things are double taxed now and having a death tax is just one more source. Tax fairness is having a flat tax, federal sales tax, or some equitable tax that everyone pays based on income and not assets, because if you think about it, we have already been taxed on the assets we have acquired, such as an automobile, house, etc.
Mr. Stulce is out of touch with America and what fairness is. He, like others such as Ted Kennedy, suggest that taxing only the rich for being rich is what the country needs to correct it's social illnesses.
Wake up, Mr. Stulce, you sound like the same old liberal Democrats complaining about what they perceive as tax fairness.
I agree with Brian Foley, tax income over the poverty line with the same flat rate for everyone, including even you, Mr. Stulce.
R.E. Chambers
ralphechambers@hotmail.com
* * *
One thing is for sure. Mr. Stulce's (who seems vastly more qualified and of a higher character than our current representative, by the way) opinion piece sure has gotten a lot of responses and a wide range of opinion. Some who criticize it bring up some good points. Others seem to have not read it all or don't have the math skills to understand what 99.6% really means. They go on and on about this being a tax cut to help us out. They fail to understand Mr. Stulce's point, preferring to just parrot the Republican spin masters.
The main point, however, is not the tax itself, but the deception and misleading style with which it is being touted. They are great at getting elected, but have little interest in actually running the country very well at all. These guys seem to take the American people for stupid. Some of those who responded, I fear, may be proving them right.
As for the other responses, however, for one thing I would point out that you are not taxing the dead. You are taxing the recipients of their money, those who have done no more to earn it that to be born into a family where the value of hard work takes a back seat to the assumption of entitlement. Isn't that what we parted ways with Europe about in 1776?
In such a short time we've gone from appreciating that no corporate head or company owner could have achieved anything without the hard work of the company's front line employees. Instead we laud them for the gracious creation of jobs for us little people who are lucky enough to have their grace bestowed upon us.
Give me a break (and a decent living wage, while you're at it)
But I must admit, a few of the more well thought out arguments force me to conclude that, eventually it comes down to whether your central value is that each of us is a part of this society vs. each of us just need to look after ourself and don't owe anyone anything.
WWJD?
W. Smith
Red Bank
esdawg@comcast.net
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