Ever the unprincipled opportunist, Joe Lieberman announces he’ll obstruct the growing consensus and demand we give income and estate tax breaks to the richest Americans, even though it will make the economy worse.

Republicans have a real problem. Well, they have a lot of them but we are not talking about moral, genetic or hygienic problems, we’re talking about a political problem. They pulled a fast one with their double round of tax cuts in 2001 and 2003. At the time we were told (against all evidence, and common sense) that if we cut the tax rate for the ultra-wealthy, if we allowed them to pass on their enormous wealth to their heirs without taxing it that there would be a robust economy, that millions and millions of jobs would be created. It was the old trickle down economy idea, dressed up for the big time.

The thing was even their own numbers showed that any positive effect would be wiped out in 10 years and then it would become a major problem in terms of budgets. So rather than face the music and the voters with this news, the Republicans put a sunset provision in the bill. It would only last 10 years, then revert to the same level of tax that the Clinton economic expansion had. This all looked pretty sweet to Republicans. They would be able to move the burden of paying for government to from wealth to work, and would have a whole decade to get these cuts made permanent.

"Originally posted at Squarestate.net"

One of the founders’ great fears was that the country would be dominated by a class of those who inherited wealth. That would seem to have been the great wish of the administration from Hell, that was so full of the inheritors of others’ earnings.

This paper discusses Estate Tax and Generation Skipping Transfer Tax and their tie-in with the Jobs Bill. Senators Baucus and Grassley attempted to slip in estate tax provisions into the Jobs Bill. Rather than go along with massive tax break for the super-wealthy, Harry Reid cut the size of the Bill to avoid making an unwarranted deal.

If the Senate fails to pass the health care bill, and you are old and rich and someone other than Harvard, Yale or Princeton stands to benefit from your demise, you might want to think about changing the locks on the bedroom door, getting a mechanic to check the brakes on your Bentley, and hiring some recently unemployed mercs for personal protection. Especially if your last name is Murdoch or Walton.

As the recession gets rougher, a host of progressive journalists are concerned that the economic stimulus legislation will not be enough to turn the economic tide.