Mike Conaway: “In 2011, the portion of your estate that is not taxable drops back to $1 million. You know, $1 million sounds like a lot…”

“In 2011, the portion of your estate that is not taxable drops back to $1 million. You know, $1 million sounds like a lot of money, and it is, don't get me wrong. I had a staffer the other day who made the comment that $12 million wasn't much money. And I said, ``Well, who has got a checkbook?'' So one of them got out a personal check, and I said, ``Tear a deposit slip out of that checkbook.'' So they tore it out, and I handed it to the staffer, and I said, ``Put $12 million on that deposit slip.'' And they said, ``Well, it won't fit.'' I said, ``Okay, well, $12 million is a lot.'' One million dollars is a lot of money. But in today's environment, with property values having gone to what they are, it doesn't take a super successful individual to get at that $1 million and much above that when you add in their house and life insurance and those kinds of things. So when the other side talks about the death tax, they typically throw out Warren Buffett or Bill Gates or these other bazillionaires as examples why we need to redistribute that wealth. The truth of the matter is this tax hits smalltown America.”