According to the Republican...er, Richmond Times-Dispatch:
In his monthly radio call-in show on Washington Post Radio, the governor emphasized that he supports eliminating the death tax on July 1, 2007, but it shouldn't come at the expense of the environmental program."I've said I'm not going to grievously wound our state's best environmental program in order to get rid of the estate tax," he said.
A couple of points. First, why does the Republican...er, Richmond Times-Dispatch refer to the Estate Tax by its Republican propaganda name, "Death Tax?" Is this objective reporting or simply regurgitating Republican anti-tax talking points? Subtle hint: NO!
Second, will Kaine veto this monstrosity in order to save his ambitious goal of preserving 400,000 acres of Virginia land by 2010? Subtle hint to Governor Kaine: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE use your veto of this assault on a core Progressive principle - taxing hereditary wealth, handed down from generation to generation, as a way of providing a level playing field for all Americans. Here's FDR on the subject:
Great accumulations of wealth cannot be justified on the basis of personal and family security ?Such inherited economic power is as inconsistent with the ideals of this generation as inherited political power was inconsistent with the ideals of the generation which established our government.
Now, here's FDR's cousin Teddy Roosevelt in 1906, after proposing a federal inheritance tax (note to RTD: it was NOT called the "death tax"):
The man of great wealth owes a particular obligation to the State because he derives special advantages from the mere existence of government.
FDR and Teddy Roosevelt had it right. How about Tim Kaine?
Meanwhile, back in the real world of politics, he should also veto it -- And then he and all Democrats should get the truth across: This is not a "death" tax, it's a tax on the stinking rich, who probably got their ill-gotten gains off the sweat and toil of the poor. The Democrats should point out how few estates actually pay this tax. The Democrats should counter the nonsense that these "death" taxes are destroying the family farm and mom-and-pop stores, when in fact both groups are already excluded from estate taxes (unless their friggin' big farms or humongously profitable mom-and-pop stores).
(And, of course, a simple check would reveal that most of the stinking rich people who would benefit if the law goes into effect are highly unlikely to be Democratic supporters. But, of course, that's another matter ...)
Maybe all those phone calls and e-mails had an effect? Let's go, troops! Keep them coming!