I agreeto Idea Raise the Estate Tax to 90%
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Raise the Estate Tax to 90%

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Yes

Inherited wealth kills capitalism. A capitalist society is one in which, if you work hard, and produce high quality work, you will get paid well... If you don't, you won't. While the country is deep in debt, the people we look to first to help us solve this problem, should be, the people creating it... People who don't work, and inherit enough money to survive and thrive forever. The estate tax doesn't even begin to be charged unless you inherit more than 2.5 million dollars from your family. Capitalism protects earned wealth, and it protects people that want to help their family have a better life than they did. It does not protect unearned wealth, it does not protect European style arristocratic inherited wealth. You are not born, having done all the work you need to do. No one would be happy if they were born that way. Raising the estate tax to 90%, on people being paid more than 2.5 million dollars to be born, would generate enough revenue to slowly but surely pay down the national debt. It's that simple. You can't be against welfare, and for lowering the estate tax, they create the same thing, unearned wealth. Unearned wealth is the enemy. It makes everyone miserable.

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Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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Comments (2)

  1. Community Member

    "It makes everyone miserable” Do you have a study or something that proves this that you can quote. I'm sure if you inherit that money, you won't rue the day you were born. Besides, you can always give it away. On the other hand, I think that poverty and hard work has made some people pretty miserable.

    Placing such a high tax on wealth will more likely discourage people from being the best they can be, which is also a foundation of American greatness. Further, your proposal may create an incentive for people to move their assets to another country and the people you're talking about have the means to leave where as poor people do not.

    This is a horrible idea and not our solution, it may, in fact, cause some of the wealth left in the US to depart. Oh, and by the way, the super wealthy do happen to fund business ventures and hire people and buy things, they don't just sit in their dungeon and count money like scrooge. Consider the big picture.

    2 years ago
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  2. Community Member Idea Submitter

    The truth is that there are countless statistics and psychological studies to back up my statements... What backs up yours? Do you think Paris Hilton is happy? How about Charlie Sheen, you think he's really winning? Or does he drown his ineptitude and misery in porn stars and cocaine, secretly wishing he just spent some time with his family.

    The illusion that being born into wealth makes you happy is a dangerous one, without any foundation. You say "poverty and hard work has made some people pretty miserable", but the goal of America was supposed to be to seperate poverty from hard work. You shouldn't be dirt poor if you're doing hard work, you should own a home, and be able to support a family... As long as people are given more than enough wealth to support 5 generations of family at birth, what motivation do they have to succeed? They will never understand what it is to be a human being, they will never understand the value of actual work for producing self esteem, and they will become leacherous eastern european style aristocrats, that count their money all day whining about how "If only the poor could help themselves, i'd be so much less inconvenienced"

    The Walton family, which has inherited virtually the entire Wal-Mart franchise, have donated less than one percent of their money to charity. Inherited wealth is anti capitalist. Unearned wealth is anti capitalist. 2.5 million dollars is more than enough money to leave your children, and friends, and wives... No one has ever earned more than that, they have simply taken it.

    If the inherited wealth in this country want to leave, and go to some socialist, european, aristocratic society... LET THEM! Print more money, and destroy their wealth through inflation as we rebuild a middle class of happy people that actually do work for a living. They don't want capitalism, they don't want free speech, they don't want to pay taxes, they don't want a minimum wage... Fine, find some theocracy or socialist state that wants to help you set up a regal dynasty... It will not be America.

    2 years ago
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