Estate Tax a Top Priority?
The Estate Tax and other Priorities
A friend of mine recently asked me to weigh in on her recent posting in regards to the Republicans repealing the estate tax. Other issues came up along her thread, so I will try to address them as well.
The first issue has to do with priorities, what are your most pressing issues; gun proliferation, and de-regulation, and banning abortion, or gun safety, environmental protections and allowing women to choose what happens to their own bodies. Republicans’ priorities are all too often on the wrong side of these issues.
As for Estate Tax Repeal (a real pressing matter!!) the question is not who has the most money, “rich Republicans vs. rich Democrats.” The question is how they choose to spend their vast riches. Republicans tend to support many of their right wing causes including voter suppression, second amendment rights, for-profit prisons, and for-profit anything with no regard for the environmental consequences.
Democrats tend to focus on helping the less fortunate in our society and that includes the poor, the disabled (including wounded veterans), single women and children. If you look at how former Presidents spend their time (I know this is a small group but demonstrates my point), Reagan disappeared to his California ranch, Bush 1 to his house in Kennebunkport, and Bush 2, well, thankfully he just disappeared. Carter builds houses for Habitat for Humanity and Bill Clinton runs his foundation helping third world countries. Al Gore, who had more votes than W. but didn’t have a brother in the Governorship in Florida, went on to reveal the dangers of Climate Change. Democrats help others, Republicans help themselves (to whatever isn’t nailed down).
Even more importantly, with income inequality being what it is, with 1% of our people controlling 95% of our wealth, something needs to take place to restore a balance to our country. This is supposed to be a Democracy, not a Monarchy, and when this 1% use their money to buy power and control, to influence legislation and further line their pockets at the expense of our clean air, water, and landscapes, dumping poisons and oil and carbon dioxide gases into our skies and forests it’s time for a change. And if we have to wait until they die, isn’t that long enough, to allow them to pass their vast riches on to offspring only perpetuates the travesty.
Hobby Lobby did not want to pay for any birth control or contraception, not just those they consider “abortifacients,” which has to be a term they concocted. Treating a sperm and an egg no bigger than this dot (.) as more important than the woman who carries it is ridiculous. Treating the “potential for life” the same as a full-term pregnancy is like treating a teenage boy’s wet dream like a nursery full of crying infants.
I could go on, but in closing, will maintain that I am proud to be a Democrat. I share their values. I am ashamed that the only way Republicans can get people to vote for them is to lie, and hope (and pray) that there are enough fools out there to fit the addage, “You can fool SOME of the people ALL of the time” to keep them in office and in power.