The Death Tax
Of all the taxes we pay, this has to be the most evil, sinister, and heartbreaking one on the books.
The Death Tax.
We’re taxed our entire lives, every time a dollar of ours changes hands, and success only increases the pain.
Those among us who did the best are punished the worst, with the biggest gut punch coming when you’re lying in a casket.
The only people exempted, dare I say rewarded, are those who have nothing to show for their efforts after a life of work.
Why it has never been repealed is beyond me, but I think it’s time we Americans made our voices heard in Washington.
This quote is a clear indication of how one of our “representatives” in Washington D.C. looks at the Estate (death) Tax;
“Just one percent of American families are wealthy enough to pay the estate tax.
But if they don't pay, it affects all of us.
The federal government will lose billions of dollars in revenue.”
This is because for 2010, one year ONLY, the rate finally drops to zero.
NO tax at all from the federal government on an estate when somebody dies.
And the government sees this as money they are losing!!!
We have the “Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001” to thank for the gradual drop of this Death Tax.
Of course, all the media and newspapers refer to that act as simply the “Bush Tax Cuts” and act like it’s a bad thing.
Seriously, when’s the last time a news person said the words “Bush Tax Cuts” without looking like they just smelled a fart?
Even with the lower rates in 2009, if your estate was valued in excess of $3.5 million, the Death Tax still hit you at a rate of 45%.
When it expires or ‘sunsets’ in 2011, the rates will automatically go back to “pre-Bush” rates – with a vengeance.
The bottom threshold will be lowered to only $1 million dollars and the rate will jump back up to 55%.
Doesn’t take much of a house or personal property – or ANY kind of small business to see your assets exceed $1 million, eh?
Think these morons in Washington D.C. are gonna do anything to stop it from coming back into effect in 2011?
Yeah, right….
Remember, it’s automatic.
We WILL see these rates in 2011.
Uncle Sam Giveth, and Uncle Sam Taketh Away
It’s not enough that we only get one year of reprieve in 2010, they want to take that away too.
If you have an estate to pass along, you’d better die QUICK.
They cannot stand to see the money they are “losing” without this tax.
There was plenty of talk about trying to close that gap of “lost” revenue for 2010 and taxing estates anyway.
After getting kicked in the teeth as much as they have lately, they might allow us this ONE YEAR of grace.
Or they might not…
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that this year 5,500 families would have paid a total of $14 billion in estate taxes.
Every Congressman and Senator knows this.
$14 billion is a lot of money when we’re staring into the abyss of a national debt at $12.3 TRILLION – and it’s growing everyday.
As I type this in January, 2010, Senate Democrats are now pleading to raise our Debt Limit yet again.
Like college kids with maxxed out credit cards, they want to increase our debt by $1.9 trillion to a stupefying $14.29 trillion.
When I got out of high school in 1983, our entire debt – all of it combined – was a stomach churning $1.9 trillion.
And they want the same amount pitched in like they’re asking Mom for twenty bucks and the car keys….
They’re in a tight spot, so what do they do? $14.29 trillion is a lot of debt if you’re hoping to get re-elected.
Remember, Congressmen face a vote every two years so they have little job security if their constituents get pissed off at them.
Now for some perspective to help drive home the point supporting elimination of the Death Tax, consider the decimal point.
Moving it 3 places reveals to us that "lost" $14 billion Death Tax revenue is less than one-tenth of one percent of $14.29 trillion.
With the way these people throw a billion around here and there, they'll never miss it if nobody tells them....
Our entire debt, the Grand Total, was already an astounding $450 billion for 2008 when President Obama took office.
Now China alone holds more than double that amount, $1 trillion, just in Treasury Bills.
And they’re getting scared we’ll default on them, because this is no different than just printing your own money.
Remember when Obama went to China in November 2009 to assure them everything was just fine, and they laughed at him?
We have to pay that money BACK, you know, and even the Chinese can’t see how we’re gonna pull it off.
The only thing missing is Carter-Era inflation, and I don’t see how we can avoid that much longer either.
If they keep printing money at ever-increasing rates, as bad as things are already, how can we possibly avoid a meltdown?
God help us if any of these factors worsen and cause a sharp devaluation of an already depressed dollar against foreign
currencies, then the circle of doom will become a vicious circle indeed - our economy circling the drain.
Blank Checks/No Credit Limits
What would the government do to any of us if WE decided to print our own damned money?
The ONLY way out of this, the only salvation we can hope for, is to roll the clock back a couple of centuries and try it again.
Our Federal Government was created to provide national defense to protect our Liberty, and oversee the states.
That’s it.
The ONLY thing I expect them to spend money on is infrastructure above the state level.
If they’re gonna spend money on people, it should be in caring for a select few - in this order of priority;
Military veterans.
- If there’s a line ANYWHERE, at the bank, ball game, McDonald’s, these men and women should be shown the front.
The elderly, infirm, and disabled.
- They have done all they can, we should expect no more of them beyond what they willfully do on their own.
- This does not include the lazy, unmotivated, or criminal.
Career service people retired from public sector jobs – and I mean very few public sector jobs.
- Same as the private sector, they should be allowed competitive, but reasonable, retirement and healthcare benefits.
That’s it.
Schools, police, fire departments, hospitals, roads, all that stuff should be done at the State level – with NO FEDERAL FUNDS.
Where Did We Lose Our Way?
How did this nation get so far away from this? How did it all go so horribly wrong?
How did we decide to give everything away to anybody just for the asking?
Since when did we decide to silence our faith, restrict our churches, and give the job of charity to the government?
And how does the government pay for it all?
With pyramid schemes like selling bonds, bait & switch taxation rhetoric, and criminally-gained revenue like the Death Tax.
Why does the government profit by collecting 55% of EVERYTHING a family stands to inherit?
Who decided that they had ANY right to the fruits of one man’s labor when he’s DEAD?
How many productive businesses, producing farms, and family legacies are forced into dissolution every year?
How many are destroyed and the spoils distributed among the shadows of what was a great family enterprise?
Few people seem to realize that if your family farm gets handed down to you and Uncle Sam says you now owe
them some crazy number like, say, $2.5 million dollars in taxes, you have to come up with some way to pay that.
Most are forced to sell off enough assets to cover the tax bill because they can almost never borrow against it.
And any money that you get to keep from the sale, above and beyond the tax bill, is subject to Capital Gains tax.
That’s right, after they tax you 55% then they hit you again for 28% of what’s left over!!!
Next time I hear somebody say they think the government should do more, I swear I’m gonna knock ‘em out.
Do more of what? I think they’ve done enough already.
Not So Big Government - It's Possible
So here’s another way of looking at just how big our government has gotten;
Our government now accounts for one out of every five jobs in this country.
They are 20% of our total workforce already, and the Federal Government is the only outfit that is hiring!
Here’s an idea;
While everybody is getting used to 10% unemployment, which really just means that 10% are actually LOOKING for a job,
lets bring out the REAL numbers nobody wants to talk about.
Almost 18% of the total American workforce doesn’t have a job - either they don’t need the money, or they’ve given up.
Look around yourself at those without a job between the ages of 25 and 55 - the statistical numbers the government uses,
and ask yourself how many them don’t need to work. Not very many are independently wealthy enough to just go fishing.
While we’re warming up to the reality of the total unemployed nationwide, let’s go ahead and start trimming the size of
the workforce that we ALL pay for – the Federal Government. They want to grow the size of government for a number of
reasons and one of the first is that it means more people (gov’t employees) will vote to grow the Federal Government…
Think about that.
If you land yourself a good comfy government job with benefits, are YOU going to vote to put yourself in the unemployment line?
So now I ask you, do we need MILLIONS of people working for the government?
I don’t think so, and I believe it’s time we started trimming their workforce.
The states could finally take over the responsibilities of steering their own courses, and maybe even hire a few of them.
We can’t trust them as it is, and they want to grow ever larger at an even more alarming rate than we’ve ever imagined.
We have not had a spike in the number of new government jobs like this since 1942 – in the midst of World War Two.
No More 'New' Math
So, let’s do a little math on the Death Tax numbers from the CBO.
5,500 families would have paid a total of $14 billion dollars into the Federal Government, and for what?
So they could continue doing exactly what they’ve been doing?
That’s an average tax bill of $2,545,454.55 for every family who lost their beloved father, patriarch, and way of life.
Two and a half million dollars, so the government can throw it on the fire like everything else they get!
I’m sick of the Democrats and the out of control spending.
I’m sick of them pissing away money on welfare, food stamps, public housing and pork barrel stupidity.
I’m sick of them holding Federal Funds hostage, threatening to withhold them if States don’t do as they’re told.
I’m sick of them insisting, then legislating that we live our lives as they see fit.
I’m sick of States, desperate for Federal dollars, rolling over to get their belly rubbed by Uncle Sam.
And most of all, I’m sick of the Republicans – the Conservatives – who want me to believe they are any different.
Will they actually do anything about it?
Not as long as they know they have a GOVERNMENT JOB, a good salary, and a great health insurance program.
I don’t know about you…
But if my Dad passes away and these assholes think I’m gonna send them a check, they’ve got another thing coming.
Not for $2.5 million, not for 2.5 cents.
And if the Internal Revenue Service demands to be paid, maybe I’ll just print my own money - then gladly give it to them.
If they want to prosecute me, I’ll suggest they do the same to ALL 535 of the crooks we’ve elected to “represent” us.
They’ve been printing money for decades, and you may have noticed it has increased by four times in the last year.
This Will Fix 'Em Good
This November, we will vote on 435 Congressmen and 36 Senators, along with many State and local offices.
Please remember to vote smart. Throw every goddam one of them out.
Even the ‘good’ ones.
They’ve all talked and talked and talked while ALL OF THIS has happened on their watch.
I’ve heard enough.
As soon as we begin to see some candidates emerge who will govern as our Founding Fathers did, with honesty, integrity,
and Christian core principles, then maybe we can finally turn this ship around and keep it off the rocks of ruin.
I’ll accept nothing less.
Take a look on these web links here and see who represents your district. Learn their names and commit them to memory.
This is so you know who to send to the unemployment line in November. Tell your friends and neighbors too.