>> Like the idea of "death taxes" harming the average person. Estate taxes are really only an issue for the very wealthy, like the Walton heirs. Or, for that matter, the Trumps. But the Right like to pretend it impacts the 99%.
No one has ever suggested that, that I've heard.
But estate taxes are not an issue solely for the very wealthy, either. I had a friend was a US Attorney who died a few years ago. Not a highly paid individual. She was single and in her 50s. Her estate approached $3M and she was already retired. An ordinary lawyer, never worked for a big firm, always worked for either the federal or local government. Had she worked until a normal retirement age she would certainly have been worth two or three times that, and hence in a confiscatory estate tax situation -- at least for part of her wealth.
Not part of the 99%. But no one has said that but you.
I know a small-town physical therapist who started with nothing and is easily worth that. It is common for people who own small businesses to be worth that. The second company I worked for, a small engineering firm, was bought out by A C Nielsen. I knew at least 15 people who walked away with that level of wealth, all young.
It just isn't that unusual among professionals.
The important point -- and one you don't seem to understand, is that a person who is in that position is also in a position to create jobs, but if you're going to confiscate half of his wealth, why bother? In fact, as Milton Friedman pointed out, there is no greater incentive for success than creating wealth to leave one's family at death. |
