The Christian Science Monitor Joins Pro-Estate Tax Bandwagon

A leading commentator for the The Christian Science Monitor has recently joined the pro-estate tax bandwagon.  See David R. Francis, Democracy and the ‘death tax’, Christian Science Monitor, June 12, 2006.

Mr. Francis expresses the opinion that imposing an estate tax has the allegedly laudable public policy of taking property from more wealthy Americans in the belief that wealthy Americans are bad for society.  He asserts that “[t]he number of households with wealth of $10 million or more in constant 2004 dollars has risen 5.19 times from 66,500 families in 1983 to 344,800 households in 2004.”  Rather than believing that this shows how the United States is a land of opportunity allowing for many people to achieve financial success, he concludes by quoting Prof. Edward Wolff from New York University who states that “[p]eople with wealth can disproportionately influence the political process” which “with makes the nation much less democratic.”  Mr. Francis also explains:

By clobbering the estate tax, “we are laying the groundwork” for a return to the sort of hereditary superrich and the class structure of the early 20th century portrayed in the movie “Titanic,” says Sam Pizzigati, editor of Too Much, a weekly online newsletter on inequity and excess.

Special thanks to Prof. Joel C. Dobris of the University of California — Davis for pointing out this commentary.