Corporate Whores Update
Not only did my congressman, Bill Jefferson, vote for the horrendous bankruptcy bill (see below), he is also among the 31 Losers who voted Wednesday "to abolish an estate tax on the wealthiest families in the country that will add $1 trillion in debt [during the] next decade at a time when we are fending off GOP claims that there isn’t enough money for Social Security." These assholes have got to go.

Jefferson's lame justification for supporting the repeal of the estate tax is here. It's full of enough lies and spin to make even Karl Rove proud. My favorite part is where he justifies it on the basis that it will help minority-owned small businesses:

Many of my colleagues who are proponents of the estate tax contend that the tax adds progressivity to the Tax Code and provides needed tax revenue. They argue that the estate tax falls on wealthier and higher income individuals and increases the total tax paid by this segment of the population relative to their income. This helps offset the regressivity of payroll taxes and excise taxes, which fall more heavily on low-income groups relative to their income. They also argue that increasing the unified credit to $4, $5, $6 or $7 million would remove small family-owned businesses and farms from the harsh impact of the estate tax.

[snip]

First, there is no clear evidence that the estate tax is progressive or that larger estates are paying a greater portion of the tax.

BULLSHIT!

Wealthier members of our society are able to reduce and or eliminate the impact of the estate tax by stuffing money away here and there at the suggestion of high-priced attorneys and accountants.

Then the answer is to close the loopholes for the wealthy, not eliminate the estate tax. I'm no economist or accountant, but even I know that.

[snip]

Permanent repeal of the estate tax will provide American families with fairness in our tax system and remove the perverse incentive that makes it is cheaper for an individual to sell the business prior to death and pay the individual capital gains rate than pass it on to heirs. But for minorities, it provides much more. It will allow wealth created in one generation to be passed on to the next thereby establishing sustainable minority communities through better jobs and education, better healthcare, and safer communities.

My god. The sheer audacity of that comment is breathtaking. To try and justify the repeal of the estate tax, which will take away billions of dollars in revenue that could be used to help the poor (who are disproportionately minorities), ensure the solvency of Social Security, improve education and health care...on the basis that a few wealthy minorities will be able to pass on accumulated wealth. He has betrayed his constituents, and betrayed his fellow African-Americans.

William Jefferson, you have lost my vote, sir.

P.S. Feel free to give Rep. Jefferson a call to let him know how you feel:

Congressman William J. Jefferson
SECOND DISTRICT, LOUISIANA · 240 CANNON · WASHINGTON, D.C. 20515 · Phone: 202/225-6636 · Fax: 202/225-1988 · www.house.gov/jefferson

You can also email the contact person listed on his press release:
Melanie.roussell@mail.house.gov
- posted by TJ @ 9:53 AM