"Ignoramus4694" wrote in message
...
On 2010-04-11, Buerste wrote:

Don't you think your kids deserve the fruits of your labor more than the
cheese-checkers?

When you say "deserve", it implies some kind of a moral judgment.

So, I hate to say it, but I am not sure why my kids "deserve" this
more than, possibly, somebody else's kids who might be better in some
respects.

Would I like them to get fruits of my labor? Sure, I love them and
want the best for them. I am not even sure, yet, if they are the kinds
of people who would be helped, or hurt, by economic help from
parents. I hope that they would be helped. If so, I would like to help
them get started in life. All of that said, I would prefer if they
could be self sufficient people who can do well on their own.

Why do you have ANY assets? There are people with nothing that
DESERVE your stuff? Why should you work hard to provide for your
family...somebody else will.

Keep in mind that I am still not subject to estate tax, so this is all
abstract. I hope that I will be, later.

I feel that I owe this country for my success because I could never be
as well off, even relatively, where I came from. So, I think, at the
very least, I should not object to sharing some of what I earn or
gain.

I do not think that perpetual dynasties of rich people would help this
society to become better.

Estate tax or not, at this time, will have no effect on how hard
I work.

I once met a staunch Communist. I asked him how it works. "If you had
four
chickens and your neighbor had none, would you give him two chickens?"
"Of
course! That's how it works!", he said. "If you had two pigs and your
neighbor had none, would you give him a pig?" "Of course! That's how it
works!", he said. "If you had two cows and your neighbor had none, would
you give him a cow?" "NO!" he said, "I HAVE two cows!"

Did you really meet that person or did you make it up?

How many "cows" do you have? I'm sure you have neighbors that don't have
an
air compressor or a lathe, or a mill or as much money as you.

I cannot know, maybe my neighbors are wealthier than me. It is hard to
tell. The book "The millionnaire next door" was a big revelation to
me, as it showed that most millionaires live a middle class
lifestyle. Of course, these days, being a millionaire does not amount
to much, due to rise in living standards and inflation.

The bottom line is that I have no objection to some reasonable level
of estate taxes.

i

Very well said! I think we understand each other's points. And yes, that
Communist story is real...and telling.

Old money disappears if it is not handled shrewdly, there is a built-in
mechanism to extract it from stupid people. Being a millionaire is nothing
anymore, one had better be if one has any hope of a retirement that doesn't
include endless meals of cat food and beans and rice, medical trips to the
free clinic and living in squalor in a bad part of town.