Estate-Tax Repeal Would Line a Few "Lucky" Pockets
Here is another interesting bit of analysis, described in an announcement (given below in its entirety) from Representative Henry Waxman's office, that connects a few dots:
New Report Reveals Estate Tax Repeal Would Give Over $200 Million Windfall to Oil Company Executives
May 30, 2006 — Next week the Senate is scheduled to consider legislation (H.R. 8) to repeal the estate tax. Repealing the tax, which has been law since 1916, is estimated to cost $1 trillion from 2011-2021. Although the tax affects few Americans, repeal will give some families extraordinary windfalls. The CEO’s of major oil companies, for instance, would get enormous benefits if H.R. 8 were enacted. The family of one oil executive, Lee Raymond (the former ExxonMobil CEO), alone could receive a tax break worth over $160 million.
Today, Rep. Waxman releases a new report that analyzes the impact that repeal would have on the families of the senior executives for the major oil companies. In 2005, the minority staff of the Government Reform Committee released a similar analysis showing that repealing the estate tax repeal would save the President, Vice President, and 11 cabinet members as much as $344 million.
[All hyperlinks were in the original.]
I've been wondering today whether the President and other elected official should, in future, come with a money-back satisfaction guarantee? Wouldn't that make a nifty Constitutional amendment to protect the core institutions at the center of our democracy.
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on Tuesday, 30 May 2006 at 20.49
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That's a splendid idea and maybe the only one that would reopen high public office in this country to people who aren't extremely well heeled and well connected.
However, that would only come about after a president or two had gone bust and then actually made good on the guarantee. And that seems a long shot right up there with one's chances of winning the Powerball Lottery or getting through a week of boob tube viewing without being subjected to a half-dozen lame "American Idol" "discussions."