The Dedication of the Right to Help the Super-Rich

It is amazing how dedicated the right is to help the super-rich in every way possible.

ECONOMY -- SEN. LINCOLN'S $250 BILLION ESTATE TAX CUT HELPS ONLY 60 SMALL BUSINESSES: Last week, 10 Democrats in the Senate joined all 41 Republicans in voting for a $250 billion proposal to cut estate taxes. More than 99 percent of this cost (approximately $249.5 billion) would go to the inheritors of estates worth over $7 million. Sens. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ) were the key advocates of the proposal, and in a press release, Lincoln touted the measure, claiming that it was "aimed at farms and small businesses." "With all the money we've spent to help the economy improve, very little of it has filtered down to Main Street and family-owned businesses," the release said. However, as a New York Times editorial noted, "[T]he implication is that upon the death of an owner, estate taxes typically devastate small businesses and the jobs they provide. That is swill." Indeed, according to a new Tax Policy Center (TPC) analysis, Lincoln and Kyl want to spend $250 billion slashing taxes for the heirs of multi-millionaires in order to save just 60 small businesses or farms from the estate tax. "We estimate that under the Obama proposal, 100 family farms and businesses would owe tax...The Lincoln-Kyl proposal would cut the number to 40," the analysis says. The Times notes that according to the Congressional Budget Office, "almost all such estates are able to pay the tax bill without having to sell business assets." As the TPC pointed out, "the biggest winners [of the estate tax cut] would be the very wealthy. Estates worth over $20 million would save an average of $3.5 million."

--americanprogressaction.org