Death of the Death Tax: Smart or Shallow Thinking?

House passage of a bill sending the so-called “death tax” to its death may be a good thing. Many of our South Dakota agribusiness friends are happy at the possibility. The Senate will probably pass similar legislation. The President’s people have said he will veto it because it helps "the wealthy.."

Most of the time I am in favor of cutting back revenue to the Federal Government. They have a long record of wasting our money. However, we are still spending much more than we take in. Last I heard we will spend almost one half trillion above our income this fiscal year. And even the most optimistic budget projections show us continuing to use red ink in our bookkeeping for many more years. A disturbing reality.

Our Congresswoman Kristi Noem has been a strong advocate for eliminating the tax. She cites the sudden death of her father many years ago and the struggles her family had paying the “death tax” as her reasons.

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In one of her “repeal statements” she said the tax only brings in about twenty BILLION(my emphasis) or so. Making it sound unimportant. In my mind, at the federal level a million dollars is important and twenty BILLION is very, very important.

It may be morally right to eliminate a tax if it hurts the ability of family businesses to continue. Even if the tax only affects a few people, if it is morally wrong, it should go.

My problem is the lack of discussion about cutting expenses or increasing revenue someplace else to make up the loss.

I asked our senior Senator John Thune on Viewpoint University about that issue. He said, eliminating the tax comes first, revenue replacement or expense cutting will come later.

From my vantage point living in a state and a city with balanced budgets and adequate surpluses, Senator Thune’s and Congresswoman Noem’s statements reveal our money problem in Washington.

Have Thune and Noem consumed too much “Washington Kool-aid?” Are they now part of the huge budget deficit and debt problem?

I hope not, but I am concerned about the lack deeper thought on this subject.