COMFORTING THE COMFORTABLE - AFFLICTING THE AFFLICTED

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

It was once said of the former Governor of Texas - "Pass the Biscuits Pappy" O'Daniel - that his political aim was to "save the soul of the poor man and the wealth of the rich man."

The same is true of today's Republican Party. Today, the radical-right House Republicans voted to permanently end "the death tax."

Even before its "temporary elimination" in 2001, the estate tax - which the far right has turned into a populist cause by calling it "the death tax" - only applied to estates of more than $1 million, and actually affected approximately two percent of Americans.

During their campaign to comfort the comfortable and afflict the afflicted, the Republicans claimed that the 55% tax on such estates forced heirs to sell off "family farms" to meet the tax, WHEN IN FACT THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF ANY "FAMILY FARM" EVER HAVING TO BE SOLD IN SUCH CIRCUMSTANCES. But then, there's never been a Republican who let the facts stand in the way of ideology.

Under the tax reforms of 2001, the estate tax was to be gradually reduced and eliminated by 2010, only to spring back the following year to its 2001 level. How any Democrat was able to convince themselves that, once done, such an act would be un-done boggles the mind. Those Democrats who still believe in the Tooth Fairy will be the only one surprised when the House votes to keep full repeal in the tax code after 2010.

So how much are we talking about? Try $290 billion in tax breaks for the two percent of Americans who will benefit.

Democratic Representative Earl Pomeroy of North Dakota had proposed an alternative that would protect all estates below $3.5 million for an individual and $7 million for a couple, which would have applied the tax to a mere three-tenths of 1 percent of estates.

With $290 billion coming to the government over ten years, it might not be necessary to cut Medicaid or health care for veterans, among other things.

But goodness, how could we possibly imagine it would be a good thing to ask those who have benefitted the most from the opportunities of America to participate in their community - as the Bible teaches they should - to care for the poor and the sick, to care for those who risked their lives to defend the nation that has provided such riches?

In the four years that George Bush and the Republicans have given us "conservative economics," the pay of the average family has gone up 3.5 percent - and this past year it took a 2 percent pay cut due to inflation - while the pay of the average CEO has gone up 34 percent since 2000, and is now approximately 400 times the annual wage the average employee of that CEO's company.

Anyone who believes their boss is 400 times better than they are, 400 times smarter than they are, is definitely dumb enough to pass the IQ test low enough to be qualified to join the Republican Party. And since that person just knows in their soul that they’ve got as much chance of becoming a millionaire as anyone else - because that's their God-given right as an American - of course we have to abolish the "death tax" so they can pass those riches on to their children.