TJ Cox: “We now have, as he knows, well over 100 sponsors, Democrats and Republicans, in this Congress to do what California did…”

“We now have, as he knows, well over 100 sponsors, Democrats and Republicans, in this Congress to do what California did by an initiative of the people; that is, repeal death taxes, the taxes on after-tax life savings, at the end of a lifetime of hard work. A liberal, and I know he is a liberal because he describes himself as such in testimony before Congress, professor from the University of Southern California where I went to college said, as an unrequited liberal he was opposed to death taxes because they are so anti-liberal. He called them virtue taxes. If we think about it, it makes sense. We are familiar with the notion of a sin tax, taxing tobacco or taxing alcohol or taxing gambling. These are called sin taxes. But a virtue tax would be a levy by the government on virtuous behavior, such as saving, investing, working, avoiding conspicuous consumption and instead helping other people. That, however, is what the death tax is. It tells someone during her or his life that what they should really do if they can acquire any earnings from their work is consume it. Do not save it, do not invest it; use it up, use it up, but surely do not try and use it for the purpose of making your family better off. It is ironic, because what that does is act as a repealer on human nature.”