Let the rich get richer

After checking out the July issue of the Hightower Lowdown, I thought I would share these fun facts with you. We know how the so-called conservative party has trashed our economy and turned a healthy surplus into a dangerously astronomical deficit. But I wanted to focus on the estate tax, which the conservatives are itching to get rid of permanently. I'm not sure how I would sleep at night, knowing Paris Hilton might have to pay taxes on the inherited millions that her grandfather worked for.

Amount of money that repeal of this tax will take from our public treasury and put in the coffers of the richest families in just one decade: $1 trillion

Number of superrich families that have quietly funded a stealth campaign for the past 10 years to promote the repeal of the estate tax: 18(including the Waltons of the Wal-Mart fortune and heirs to Gallo wines, Campbell soup, and M&M candies)

Total savings that just these 18 families would reap if the tax is repealed: $71.6 billion

Yes, that's right, these 18 families alone would gain an extra $71.6 billion. For these same families, Bush's 2003 tax cuts put an extra $500,000 in their diamond-encrusted wallets. And how much extra money did it put in the pockets of someone like me? $10. I won't get into the argument of how foolish it is to think that these tax cuts stimulate the economy. It's payback to the ruling class, the rich, plain and simple. I'm not dumb, and I'm not going to listen to that crap, "It's for the economy, Stupid!"

Most importantly, what do the families of Bush and Cheney stand to profit from the permanent removal of the estate tax? Bush's family can avoid up to $6.2 million in taxes, while the Cheney clan can dodge up to $61 million in taxes.