The "Death Tax" and Monopoly....

[catnhatnh]

...and I speak here of the board game,not what is nice if Daddy has a few of....How many would PLAY monopoly if one player (whose name began with a "B" say and ended with "ullshit") was allowed to start already owning Boardwalk and Park Place...maybe those popular RED properties and a few railroads and a utility or two...
That is what is really out there. Who thinks that a son of Bill Gates, even under the most confiscatory taxes ever levied in this country would thereby be handicapped or crippled?Realize that EVEN IF taxes took EVERY DIME of familial wealth the scions of the rich would already have received the benefits of a "legacy" education and a "good old boys" network of upscale friends and "name recognition" (think "Paris Hilton" and her actual entertainment value WHILE wearing clothes...
...now try poor and black-cops watching you from the age of 12,an earning potential below that of illegal immigrants,and a social structure that openly admits this.A society in which rich whites have doors opened to even c- dolts while "mere" b+ blacks are expendable-where over 50% are actually already "in the system" (penal)...
...anyhow-it's NOT the America I signed on for.The "death tax" is not the be-all or end-all...in REAL life it's just a start...
On Edit:This post dedicated to a poster who complimented me for posting favorably regarding auto racing...

[SteppingRazor]

1. I'm certainly for a fairly hefty inheritance tax, but nowhere near 100%...

Put it on a sliding progressive scale, like our income tax system back when it was halfway equitable.

The richest 1% would pay more than 75% in inheritance tax. The poorest people would pay nothing -- and in fact, would probably have too worry more about their parents' ddebt being forgiven than anything else.

[gratuitous]

4. The inheritance tax is already zero for po' folks

The first $2 million in inheritance is exempt from taxation. Republicans really like the lid on social security earnings, but would like to blow the lid off the inheritance tax.

It's a damn shame to consider some trust fund baby having to start life with a paltry $55 million instead of the full $100 million that the system enabled his forebears to accumulate.

[dcfirefighter]

2. History of Monopoly

from wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopoly_%28game%29#History

The precursor to the game was developed to show the effects of land monopoly. Imagine playing monopoly where the 'rent' from the land was shared among everyone, while the 'rent' for buildings was kept by the building owner.

[Lefty48197]

3. The "death tax" is just another lie the Republicans tell.

Currently, I think the first one million dollars of an estate is exempt from the inheritance tax. One way to cut down on the tax owed, is to have the first spouse that dies, give away one million tax exempt dollars to their children, and when the second spouse dies, they too can give away one million dollars tax exempt.
How many estates in America are worth over two million dollars? I'm guessing that only George Bush's top 1% will ever have to pay an inheritance tax.

[killbotfactory]

5. Maybe they should spend that money on their community

Instead of hording it.