Yesterday, four prominent GOP Senators echoed their dedication to repealing the estate tax at a rally in Memphis, TN. Sens. Bill Frist (R-TN), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Sam Brownback (R-KS), and George Allen (R-VA) expressed their commitment to not only repealing the estate tax, but making tax cuts permanent in general.

Sen. Graham provided an interesting comment on the estate tax, saying "We're on course to eliminate the death tax, which is socialism. Our economy is at an all-time high because Republicans have given money back to the working people of this country." This comment is nothing less than completely hypocritical. The estate tax is hardly socialism; it is a progressive tax on wealth which only taxes a percentage of assets passed on to heirs from people with very large estates. The estate tax provides an incentive for charitable giving - an act President Bush often touts as extremely important - and attempts to level the economic playing field while providing funds for the national treasury (which is currently experiencing a bit of debt). Furthermore, Republican tax cuts have not been giving money to the "working people." The estate tax, if it were repealed, would solely benefit the people who are currently required to pay it (a.k.a. the wealthiest .27% of individuals who die in 2006).

Additionally, if other tax cuts were made permanent they would disproportionately benefit the wealthiest individuals in our society, as Bush's tax cuts currently do. The following chart, courtesy of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, makes it quite clear: