The Estate Tax, Soon to Return in 2010

[pal_of_poor]

Without an estate tax and the related gift tax, huge untaxed fortunes could be built and passed on generation after generation tax-free. No one knows it better than the richest man in America, Bill Gates.

Microsoft began with a gift from his parents, Bill Sr. and the late Mary Gates. And in significant ways it was the taxpayers who made that gift possible. The father went to college on the GI Bill. The couple bought their first house with a VA loan. Those investments by the taxpayers paid off for the Gates family, as they did for millions of other Americans. The father became a successful Seattle lawyer. The couple had money to give their son to start his business, after he dropped out of Harvard, because the taxpayers also paid a salary to Mrs. Gates when she taught public school. So not only did the country's largest fortune begin with a gift that was tax-free, but also the gift money was there because of the taxpayers.

Many wealthy Americans who favor the estate tax do so because they understand that taxpayer investments like those made in the Gates family helped build our society and economy. That the supporters of an estate tax are led by Bill Gates Sr., along with billionaires Warren Buffett and George Soros, is an inconvenient fact for Soldano and her backers. They have worked so hard to create the impression that opposition is universal among all but estate tax lawyers and the random socialist or communist, yet here are these rich men saying keep the estate tax.

Perfectly Legal, The Covert Campaign to Rig our Tax System to Benefit the Super-Rich--and Cheat Everybody Else, by David Cay Johnston p. 83

Many think they will be affected by this tax, that won't. Some speculate their chances of becoming a millionaire are greater than they are, and some just aren't smart enough to understand they are way, way below the levels of wealth needed for this tax to kick in.

Many myths surround it, like farmers being affected. There was one, in all of America. And it was a huge farm, where the person who died had all sorts of assets, a huge corporate farm, being only one of them.

Others, that the wife will be taxed, but they changed that law to keep inheritance taxes from kicking in until both parents died.

The inheritance tax is a tax that keeps the wealthiest few percent, giving back, from the huge gains they've accrued in their lives. With the huge debt, mostly aquired by rolling back tax levels of the richest during the Bush years, it's a good thing it is coming back. Like the federal income tax, it is one of the few taxes that the rich pay more, as a percentage of income, than the poor and middle class, who usually pay nothing.

 

[Truthmatters]

it should never have been ended

 

[Truthmatters]

I made the thread old again by posting in it....how funny

 

[Big Black Dog]

Without an estate tax and the related gift tax, huge untaxed fortunes could be built and passed on generation after generation tax-free. No one knows it better than the richest man in America, Bill Gates.

Microsoft began with a gift from his parents, Bill Sr. and the late Mary Gates. And in significant ways it was the taxpayers who made that gift possible. The father went to college on the GI Bill. The couple bought their first house with a VA loan. Those investments by the taxpayers paid off for the Gates family, as they did for millions of other Americans. The father became a successful Seattle lawyer. The couple had money to give their son to start his business, after he dropped out of Harvard, because the taxpayers also paid a salary to Mrs. Gates when she taught public school. So not only did the country's largest fortune begin with a gift that was tax-free, but also the gift money was there because of the taxpayers.

Many wealthy Americans who favor the estate tax do so because they understand that taxpayer investments like those made in the Gates family helped build our society and economy. That the supporters of an estate tax are led by Bill Gates Sr., along with billionaires Warren Buffett and George Soros, is an inconvenient fact for Soldano and her backers. They have worked so hard to create the impression that opposition is universal among all but estate tax lawyers and the random socialist or communist, yet here are these rich men saying keep the estate tax.

Perfectly Legal, The Covert Campaign to Rig our Tax System to Benefit the Super-Rich--and Cheat Everybody Else, by David Cay Johnston p. 83

Many think they will be affected by this tax, that won't. Some speculate their chances of becoming a millionaire are greater than they are, and some just aren't smart enough to understand they are way, way below the levels of wealth needed for this tax to kick in.

Many myths surround it, like farmers being affected. There was one, in all of America. And it was a huge farm, where the person who died had all sorts of assets, a huge corporate farm, being only one of them.

Others, that the wife will be taxed, but they changed that law to keep inheritance taxes from kicking in until both parents died.

The inheritance tax is a tax that keeps the wealthiest few percent, giving back, from the huge gains they've accrued in their lives. With the huge debt, mostly aquired by rolling back tax levels of the richest during the Bush years, it's a good thing it is coming back. Like the federal income tax, it is one of the few taxes that the rich pay more, as a percentage of income, than the poor and middle class, who usually pay nothing.

I beg to differ with your statement "Many myths surround it. like farmers being affected. There was one, in all of America. And it was a huge farm, where the person who died had all sorts of assets, a huge corporate farm, being only one of them." This is complete bull shit.

I happen to own a farm and it's where I live. It is not a large farm as compared to others here in the mid-west but it is over 900 acres. That puts it's value way over the million dollar limit, especially when you consider all the various outbuildings and things associated with the farm. I do not consider myself a "rich" person but one that has managed his resources well during the course of my lifetime. I've paid taxes on this farm ever since I've owned it and taxes on everything produced on the farm. Believe me, there is no shortage of taxes to be paid - especially property taxes. So, with all the taxes that I've paid, and the taxes I continue to pay every year along with the rest of my "non-farm" holdings, you think it's fair for the government to swoop in and demand an estate tax when I die? What this means is that if the kids I leave the farm to does not have the funds to pay the estate taxes the farm will have to be sold just so the government can collect their booty. This is pure horseshit. And you wonder why so many people have such low regard for the government? It's very obvious to me that you don't have a pot to piss in because if you did, you would change your tune about the estate tax.

 

[pal_of_poor]

it should never have been ended

Agreed!

this year, 3.5 million is exempted. So if all of your assets, your houses, cars, accounts, and everything are less than 3.5 million, you don't pay it. Amounts of wealth above that, you pay 45 percent.

In 2010, you can die, and keep all your money. So, 2010 is the year for lucky dying, regaring this tax.

In 2011, it comes back, at taxing over a million, at the rate of 55 percent taxation on all amounts above this one million dollar asset limit.

Let's face it, most people don't have accumulated wealth above a million, much less above this years amount of 3.5 million. People shouldn't be concerned about this, unless they have such a huge accumulation of wealth. Even then, there are all sorts of trusts, generation skipping trusts, and devices that the wealthy have to shield some of the money from taxation, even actually giving people money before you die, at less than ten grand a year.

http://www.pacificlife.com/Channel/...ning+Concepts/Estate+Tax+Exemption+Amount.htm

 

[pal_of_poor]

Without an estate tax and the related gift tax, huge untaxed fortunes could be built and passed on generation after generation tax-free. No one knows it better than the richest man in America, Bill Gates.

Microsoft began with a gift from his parents, Bill Sr. and the late Mary Gates. And in significant ways it was the taxpayers who made that gift possible. The father went to college on the GI Bill. The couple bought their first house with a VA loan. Those investments by the taxpayers paid off for the Gates family, as they did for millions of other Americans. The father became a successful Seattle lawyer. The couple had money to give their son to start his business, after he dropped out of Harvard, because the taxpayers also paid a salary to Mrs. Gates when she taught public school. So not only did the country's largest fortune begin with a gift that was tax-free, but also the gift money was there because of the taxpayers.

Many wealthy Americans who favor the estate tax do so because they understand that taxpayer investments like those made in the Gates family helped build our society and economy. That the supporters of an estate tax are led by Bill Gates Sr., along with billionaires Warren Buffett and George Soros, is an inconvenient fact for Soldano and her backers. They have worked so hard to create the impression that opposition is universal among all but estate tax lawyers and the random socialist or communist, yet here are these rich men saying keep the estate tax.

Perfectly Legal, The Covert Campaign to Rig our Tax System to Benefit the Super-Rich--and Cheat Everybody Else, by David Cay Johnston p. 83

Many think they will be affected by this tax, that won't. Some speculate their chances of becoming a millionaire are greater than they are, and some just aren't smart enough to understand they are way, way below the levels of wealth needed for this tax to kick in.

Many myths surround it, like farmers being affected. There was one, in all of America. And it was a huge farm, where the person who died had all sorts of assets, a huge corporate farm, being only one of them.

Others, that the wife will be taxed, but they changed that law to keep inheritance taxes from kicking in until both parents died.

The inheritance tax is a tax that keeps the wealthiest few percent, giving back, from the huge gains they've accrued in their lives. With the huge debt, mostly aquired by rolling back tax levels of the richest during the Bush years, it's a good thing it is coming back. Like the federal income tax, it is one of the few taxes that the rich pay more, as a percentage of income, than the poor and middle class, who usually pay nothing.

I beg to differ with your statement "Many myths surround it. like farmers being affected. There was one, in all of America. And it was a huge farm, where the person who died had all sorts of assets, a huge corporate farm, being only one of them." This is complete bull shit.

I happen to own a farm and it's where I live. It is not a large farm as compared to others here in the mid-west but it is over 900 acres. That puts it's value way over the million dollar limit, especially when you consider all the various outbuildings and things associated with the farm. I do not consider myself a "rich" person but one that has managed his resources well during the course of my lifetime. I've paid taxes on this farm ever since I've owned it and taxes on everything produced on the farm. Believe me, there is no shortage of taxes to be paid - especially property taxes. So, with all the taxes that I've paid, and the taxes I continue to pay every year along with the rest of my "non-farm" holdings, you think it's fair for the government to swoop in and demand an estate tax when I die? What this means is that if the kids I leave the farm to does not have the funds to pay the estate taxes the farm will have to be sold just so the government can collect their booty. This is pure horseshit. And you wonder why so many people have such low regard for the government? It's very obvious to me that you don't have a pot to piss in because if you did, you would change your tune about the estate tax.

So, your only assets are your farm and land? I'm doubting it. People don't have to sell the farm, and usually those with that kind of land, have many assets, the farm being only one of them.

Anyway, if I'm feeling sorry for someone, it isn't going to be you. Way to go on getting the 900 acres, however you came about it, inheritance, or the like. But there are plenty of people who earn sympathy. Spend a few hundred on an accountant, and I'm sure you can figure out how to shield the money.

Besides, 900 acres isn't exactly the idea one has when you say "family farm." Most think about a mom and pop with a pitch fork image, not a huge corporate farm.

 

[VaYank5150]

So, with all the taxes that I've paid, and the taxes I continue to pay every year along with the rest of my "non-farm" holdings, you think it's fair for the government to swoop in and demand an estate tax when I die? What this means is that if the kids I leave the farm to does not have the funds to pay the estate taxes the farm will have to be sold just so the government can collect their booty. This is pure horseshit.

Sounds to me like you need to be farming in another country then. Yes? Did you NOT know the rules all of the long years you have farmed your 900 acres?

 

[Big Black Dog]

it should never have been ended

Agreed!

this year, 3.5 million is exempted. So if all of your assets, your houses, cars, accounts, and everything are less than 3.5 million, you don't pay it. Amounts of wealth above that, you pay 45 percent.

In 2010, you can die, and keep all your money. So, 2010 is the year for lucky dying, regaring this tax.

In 2011, it comes back, at taxing over a million, at the rate of 55 percent taxation on all amounts above this one million dollar asset limit.

Let's face it, most people don't have accumulated wealth above a million, much less above this years amount of 3.5 million. People shouldn't be concerned about this, unless they have such a huge accumulation of wealth. Even then, there are all sorts of trusts, generation skipping trusts, and devices that the wealthy have to shield some of the money from taxation, even actually giving people money before you die, at less than ten grand a year.

Estate Tax Exemption Amount

My accountant has indeed researched this issue and the only way I can leave my farm and assets to the kids is to put it in a trust so they don't get hit with a ton of taxes. That in itself is bullshit because having already paid many taxes on this farm, and other assets, I should not have to do this just to avoid my heirs paying estate taxes. You can't even die in this country without it costing you money. That's a very sad situation. Just for your information, a million dollar estate is not all that hard to accumulate. A million dollars is not a huge amount of money.

 

[pal_of_poor]

Well, I see there is a pretty big chasm between a pot to piss in and 3.5 million, before you even have to pay the tax at all, and you only pay it on amounts over that.

Like I said, the important thing for people to remember is, do they want to give folks like this a break, or do they want to take the tax on themselves, in the form of more sales tax, more property taxes, more alcohol or cig taxes, or some of the newest ideas, a value added sales tax, or gas taxes, or soft-drink taxes.

People dont' stop and count up these taxes, but they really add up, and are very regressive, and hurt the economy way more than a tax that might require you to sell a few acres, if even that.

 

[Big Black Dog]

Besides, 900 acres isn't exactly the idea one has when you say "family farm." Most think about a mom and pop with a pitch fork image, not a huge corporate farm.

A 900 acre farm is not a "huge corporate farm". Where did you get that idea?

 

[manu1959]

yes .... ted kennedys earning and assets should all be taxed twice....

 

[ba1614]

Without an estate tax and the related gift tax, huge untaxed fortunes could be built and passed on generation after generation tax-free. No one knows it better than the richest man in America, Bill Gates.

Microsoft began with a gift from his parents, Bill Sr. and the late Mary Gates. And in significant ways it was the taxpayers who made that gift possible. The father went to college on the GI Bill. The couple bought their first house with a VA loan. Those investments by the taxpayers paid off for the Gates family, as they did for millions of other Americans. The father became a successful Seattle lawyer. The couple had money to give their son to start his business, after he dropped out of Harvard, because the taxpayers also paid a salary to Mrs. Gates when she taught public school. So not only did the country's largest fortune begin with a gift that was tax-free, but also the gift money was there because of the taxpayers.

Many wealthy Americans who favor the estate tax do so because they understand that taxpayer investments like those made in the Gates family helped build our society and economy. That the supporters of an estate tax are led by Bill Gates Sr., along with billionaires Warren Buffett and George Soros, is an inconvenient fact for Soldano and her backers. They have worked so hard to create the impression that opposition is universal among all but estate tax lawyers and the random socialist or communist, yet here are these rich men saying keep the estate tax.

Perfectly Legal, The Covert Campaign to Rig our Tax System to Benefit the Super-Rich--and Cheat Everybody Else, by David Cay Johnston p. 83

Many think they will be affected by this tax, that won't. Some speculate their chances of becoming a millionaire are greater than they are, and some just aren't smart enough to understand they are way, way below the levels of wealth needed for this tax to kick in.

Many myths surround it, like farmers being affected. There was one, in all of America. And it was a huge farm, where the person who died had all sorts of assets, a huge corporate farm, being only one of them.

Others, that the wife will be taxed, but they changed that law to keep inheritance taxes from kicking in until both parents died.

The inheritance tax is a tax that keeps the wealthiest few percent, giving back, from the huge gains they've accrued in their lives. With the huge debt, mostly aquired by rolling back tax levels of the richest during the Bush years, it's a good thing it is coming back. Like the federal income tax, it is one of the few taxes that the rich pay more, as a percentage of income, than the poor and middle class, who usually pay nothing.

I beg to differ with your statement "Many myths surround it. like farmers being affected. There was one, in all of America. And it was a huge farm, where the person who died had all sorts of assets, a huge corporate farm, being only one of them." This is complete bull shit.

I happen to own a farm and it's where I live. It is not a large farm as compared to others here in the mid-west but it is over 900 acres. That puts it's value way over the million dollar limit, especially when you consider all the various outbuildings and things associated with the farm. I do not consider myself a "rich" person but one that has managed his resources well during the course of my lifetime. I've paid taxes on this farm ever since I've owned it and taxes on everything produced on the farm. Believe me, there is no shortage of taxes to be paid - especially property taxes. So, with all the taxes that I've paid, and the taxes I continue to pay every year along with the rest of my "non-farm" holdings, you think it's fair for the government to swoop in and demand an estate tax when I die? What this means is that if the kids I leave the farm to does not have the funds to pay the estate taxes the farm will have to be sold just so the government can collect their booty. This is pure horseshit. And you wonder why so many people have such low regard for the government? It's very obvious to me that you don't have a pot to piss in because if you did, you would change your tune about the estate tax.

Couldn't agree more, complete bullshit.
There's a baby factory, or 2 or 4, out there somewhere thanking you!

 

[ba1614]

Besides, 900 acres isn't exactly the idea one has when you say "family farm." Most think about a mom and pop with a pitch fork image, not a huge corporate farm.

A 900 acre farm is not a "huge corporate farm". Where did you get that idea?

Someone from the city

 

[Immanuel]

Let's face it, most people don't have accumulated wealth above a million, much less above this years amount of 3.5 million. People shouldn't be concerned about this, unless they have such a huge accumulation of wealth. Even then, there are all sorts of trusts, generation skipping trusts, and devices that the wealthy have to shield some of the money from taxation, even actually giving people money before you die, at less than ten grand a year.

Estate Tax Exemption Amount

I have a question, simply because I may not accumulate the wealth required to pay the tax, I should not be concerned about it? Is that why this tax passed in the first place, because everyone said, "it won't affect me so why should I care?"

I doubt I will acquire that kind of wealth for one reason, I am not a speculator and I don't like dealing in real estate, but it just goes against my nature to think that the kids of someone who has accumulated say $1.5 in property (say BBD) should have to sell their property in order to pay the tax.

I might understand if it were set up like a lien so that if the heirs made a profit of more than $1 million they were taxed on it, but not as the Estate Tax is currently set up.

Immie

 

[LibocalypseNow]

HOORAY FOR SOCIALISM!!! I think i'm gonna puke. My God lets hope it's only three more years of this inept Socialist madness. Btw,you should check out what Winston Churchill had to say about Socialism. Churchill really was the man.

 

[Skull Pilot]

don't you worry, there are a lot of ways to avoid paying estate taxes.

irrevocable life insurance trusts

And a myriad of other ways are available. so

 

[LibocalypseNow]

Winston Churchill on Socialism: "Socialism is a philosophy of failure,the creed of ignorance,and the gospel of envy,its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." Wow right on Mr. Churchill! I have always said that Socialism does not = Sharing the Wealth but rather = Sharing the Poverty in the end. Lets just hope & pray its only three more years of this miserable Socialist malaise.

 

[pal_of_poor]

Let's face it, most people don't have accumulated wealth above a million, much less above this years amount of 3.5 million. People shouldn't be concerned about this, unless they have such a huge accumulation of wealth. Even then, there are all sorts of trusts, generation skipping trusts, and devices that the wealthy have to shield some of the money from taxation, even actually giving people money before you die, at less than ten grand a year.

Estate Tax Exemption Amount

I have a question, simply because I may not accumulate the wealth required to pay the tax, I should not be concerned about it? Is that why this tax passed in the first place, because everyone said, "it won't affect me so why should I care?"

I doubt I will acquire that kind of wealth for one reason, I am not a speculator and I don't like dealing in real estate, but it just goes against my nature to think that the kids of someone who has accumulated say $1.5 in property (say BBD) should have to sell their property in order to pay the tax.

I might understand if it were set up like a lien so that if the heirs made a profit of more than $1 million they were taxed on it, but not as the Estate Tax is currently set up.

Immie

One, to pay for a very expensive war. We've got two going on now, and truth is, we pay a fortune for potential wars, even when we manage to stay out of them for a few years. Also, this tax hits the very people who have tripled their wealth, and who benefit most from the wars in foreign land. If you supported the war, then don't complain about the taxes.

Also, the idea was that people should rise to success on their own shoulders, and that if one does well in life, they should pay back to society some of what they have amassed. And bear in mind, this is only amounts over total assets of 3.5 million in 2009.

And yes, I would think whether the taxes affect you, or ever will affect you, should bear some weight in any decision as to whether you like it, or not. More specifically, if they levy a tax on you, so these folks can get their break, I suspect that might weigh on you.

Like I've said, there are people who really deserve your empathy and pity, way more than people who have inherited, or accumulated this much in life. The truth is, it mostly affects people with hundreds of millions, or billions. And the government doesn't "swoop" anymore than they "swoop," when you pay sales taxes on a couple of hundred dollars worth of groceries, after they've already taken money out of your paycheck.

Also, payroll taxes are only collected on up to about a hundred grand. After that, the richest don't pay that tax either. And for all these years, they've been collecting too much, over the amount required to pay out SS benefits, and have been spending it on other stuff, like wars, and tax cuts for the rich.

Clearly, the jist of it is that they've been moving taxes off themselves, and putting it onto you, while using their media to convince you to give them breaks, but not exactly telling you that you are paying more.

 

[Immanuel]

Let's face it, most people don't have accumulated wealth above a million, much less above this years amount of 3.5 million. People shouldn't be concerned about this, unless they have such a huge accumulation of wealth. Even then, there are all sorts of trusts, generation skipping trusts, and devices that the wealthy have to shield some of the money from taxation, even actually giving people money before you die, at less than ten grand a year.

Estate Tax Exemption Amount

I have a question, simply because I may not accumulate the wealth required to pay the tax, I should not be concerned about it? Is that why this tax passed in the first place, because everyone said, "it won't affect me so why should I care?"

I doubt I will acquire that kind of wealth for one reason, I am not a speculator and I don't like dealing in real estate, but it just goes against my nature to think that the kids of someone who has accumulated say $1.5 in property (say BBD) should have to sell their property in order to pay the tax.

I might understand if it were set up like a lien so that if the heirs made a profit of more than $1 million they were taxed on it, but not as the Estate Tax is currently set up.

Immie

One, to pay for a very expensive war. We've got two going on now, and truth is, we pay a fortune for potential wars, even when we manage to stay out of them for a few years. Also, this tax hits the very people who have tripled their wealth, and who benefit most from the wars in foreign land. If you supported the war, then don't complain about the taxes.

Snip

Pal,

The truth of the matter is that the Estate Tax does not even provide a drop in the bucket when compared to our federal budget (2007 37.7 Billion/2.67 Trillion = 1.41%) so using your first argument about this paying for our defense is disengenuous at best.

Federal tax revenue by state - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Estate Tax and Government Revenue | OMB Watch

Note: the OMBWatch site IS projections, I did not have time to look for the actual figures if they are even out yet.

As for payroll taxes, well it is true that Social Security (and only SS) is not taxed after $100k, but then it is also true that the so called rich don't benefit from Social Security at the higher levels anyway not that I agree with the cap but that is besides the point.

If liberals were honest, they would admit that the entire remaining part of your/their argument is nothing more than class envy/warfare and a desire to "Share the Wealth". It is also shameful.

Immie

 

[skookerasbil]

Without an estate tax and the related gift tax, huge untaxed fortunes could be built and passed on generation after generation tax-free. No one knows it better than the richest man in America, Bill Gates.

Microsoft began with a gift from his parents, Bill Sr. and the late Mary Gates. And in significant ways it was the taxpayers who made that gift possible. The father went to college on the GI Bill. The couple bought their first house with a VA loan. Those investments by the taxpayers paid off for the Gates family, as they did for millions of other Americans. The father became a successful Seattle lawyer. The couple had money to give their son to start his business, after he dropped out of Harvard, because the taxpayers also paid a salary to Mrs. Gates when she taught public school. So not only did the country's largest fortune begin with a gift that was tax-free, but also the gift money was there because of the taxpayers.

Many wealthy Americans who favor the estate tax do so because they understand that taxpayer investments like those made in the Gates family helped build our society and economy. That the supporters of an estate tax are led by Bill Gates Sr., along with billionaires Warren Buffett and George Soros, is an inconvenient fact for Soldano and her backers. They have worked so hard to create the impression that opposition is universal among all but estate tax lawyers and the random socialist or communist, yet here are these rich men saying keep the estate tax.

Perfectly Legal, The Covert Campaign to Rig our Tax System to Benefit the Super-Rich--and Cheat Everybody Else, by David Cay Johnston p. 83

Many think they will be affected by this tax, that won't. Some speculate their chances of becoming a millionaire are greater than they are, and some just aren't smart enough to understand they are way, way below the levels of wealth needed for this tax to kick in.

Many myths surround it, like farmers being affected. There was one, in all of America. And it was a huge farm, where the person who died had all sorts of assets, a huge corporate farm, being only one of them.

Others, that the wife will be taxed, but they changed that law to keep inheritance taxes from kicking in until both parents died.

The inheritance tax is a tax that keeps the wealthiest few percent, giving back, from the huge gains they've accrued in their lives. With the huge debt, mostly aquired by rolling back tax levels of the richest during the Bush years, it's a good thing it is coming back. Like the federal income tax, it is one of the few taxes that the rich pay more, as a percentage of income, than the poor and middle class, who usually pay nothing.

lmao............just another tax to torpedo the economy!!! Fine with me........Americans are getting a good dose of the fcukked up economic thinking of liberals. Good intentions with disasterous results.
Of course, many of the k00ks are driven beyond any level of common sense due to their disdain for the successful. Its a common theme amongst liberals........their loathing of people who are succesful is driven by their refusal to acknowledge their own personal fcukk ups...........so its, "Get the successful guy at all costs!!!"
What it resluts in is trickle up opverty economic principles that end up screwing over many in the working class who find themselves unemployed due to an anti-business government............its feel good stuff for the k00ks but its a huge vote loser amongst the folks. Fine by me s0ns................