The Birth Tax We Did Not Have a Say in

If you listen to conservative talk radio on a daily basis, you might think by now that every American chooses whether to be rich or poor.  Many senior citizens choose to work into their 70s, not because the cost of living is so high.  Students choose to be in debt, it's not the lending industry's fault at all.  Many poor families choose to go bankrupt, it is not because their health care costs are so high.

But at least conservatives agree that people do not choose where or when they are born.  In that case, what excuses do we give our children for paying $12 billion each week for a failed war?  This is nothing more than a birth tax that will be passed on to future generations.  Even if we withdrew most of our forces, we will still pay up:

The Bush administration and Congress have allocated $577 billion to theconflicts through the end of the current fiscal year, but that amountis only a small down payment, the report suggested in examining theimpact of various deployment scenarios.

If today's troop level -- roughly 180,000 -- is cut by 85 percent by2010 and remains at that level through 2017, the total cost of the twoconflicts would be an additional $472 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office figures. If U.S. troop deployments were cut more gradually -- to 75,000soldiers, or by about 60 percent, by 2013 -- the additional costs wouldbe nearly $600 billion. Keeping troops at that level for five yearsbeyond that would cost $300 billion more, the report said.

The Republicans like to talk a lot about the so-called 'death tax' -- just another name for an estate payment that the richest 1% pay.  Just think, if people are this outraged about the Hilton sisters inheriting slightly less money after their parents pass on, then shouldn't we be even more outraged by a tax on children that have not been born yet?

Remember, the birth tax not only consists of money -- it represents all of our problems that the next generation will inherit, including our reduced standing in the world community.  Oh, they'll have fun with this.

Comments

[George]

Excellent article. The death tax is a complete lie. It's an example of Republicans using their power to control people's opinions, to demoralize people, to just beat people down until they feel like they have no good option.

[sigkim]

Chief editor. I have sent you a tax related story for your consideration. That is all I will say on the subject.
As always have a very good day:)
Sig>Michael