Once again, E.J. Dionne hits it on the head in his column today in The Washington Post.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45305-2005Apr11.html
Dionne says House Republicans are planning to vote this week on repealing the estate tax permanently. He calls this the "Paris Hilton tax cut" because it would benefit the wealthiest.
Instead, Dionne says, the estate tax could be reformed to eliminate 99 percent of current taxpayers, and yet the top one percent could pay enough to shore up part of the Social Security Trust Fund.
What's this though about Democrats wanting to "compromise" with Republicans on the estate tax? Who are these guys? Whoever they are they need to know that this kind of behavior is not appreciated by real Democrats, and they will suffer consequences. Dionne says Republicans are trying to "sucker" Democrats into a deal. Let's see who the real Democrats are on this and get rid of the false Democrats who just sell us out at every turn. The relevant paragraphs are below the fold.
Here is the stuff about turncoat Democrats.
This also means that Democrats now talking about reaching a "compromise" with the Republicans on the estate tax should put the discussions on hold until the Social Security debate plays itself out. Most of the "compromises" being discussed would repeal 80 to 90 percent of the estate tax. At some point, it might be reasonable to agree to make the 2009 estate tax levels permanent. But if they agree to any steps beyond that, Democrats will, once again, be placing the concerns of wealthy donors over the interests of the people who actually vote for them.
The Friends of Paris Hilton realize that as federal deficits mount and rising Medicare costs loom, the case for the total repeal of the estate tax grows steadily weaker. That's why they're hoping they can sucker defenders of estate taxes into a so-called compromise that gives away the store -- the store, in this case, going to Neiman-Marcus shoppers, not to those who rely on Target.
This is an instructive moment. What we are having is not a real debate on the future of Social Security but a sham discussion in which the one issue that matters to the governing majority is how to keep cutting taxes on the wealthiest people in our country.
Those who vote to repeal the estate tax this week will be sending a clear message: They see the "crisis" in Social Security as serious enough to justify benefit cuts and private accounts. But it's not serious enough to warrant a minor inconvenience to those who plan to live on their parents' wealth.
This is something we all need to be aware of. It is hell that we can't devote our efforts to fighting Republicans. Instead, we have to waste effort on bucking up Democrats.