"A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt expressed alarm about the dangerous concentration of wealth and power in the U.S. and called on the incoming 60th Congress to establish a federal estate tax on large fortunes. Its primary objective, Roosevelt said,
"should be to put a constantly increasing burden on the inheritance of those swollen fortunes which it is certainly of no benefit to this country to perpetuate."
A more careful look would disclose another fundamental factor in wealth creationbeing born in America. (What Warren Buffett refers to as winning the game of ovarian roulette.)
What is so special about place of birth?
First off, economists agree that the presence of a stable market for goods and assets adds 30% to the value of everything we ownwe have that in America, and that increases wealth.
Second, economists tell us that 50% of the annual growth in our economy is a function of the introduction of new technologywe have that in America, and my family knows first-hand about how new technology can increase wealth.
But the benefits of being an American dont stop there.
In no other country in the world is the federal government spending more money on research. The United States spends some $96 billion every year on fundamental research in universities and laboratories all over this country.
And what comes of this research? Well for starters how about things like jet engines, integrated circuits, the human genome, or the Internet. Clearly the largest and most generous venture capitalist in the universe is Uncle Sam.
It is clear that the folks who have become wealthy from this significant social investment did not do it alone. I believe their estates owe something back to the society that enabled the creation of that wealth."
Bill Gates, Sr.