Estate Tax Hurts More Than The Rich
According to a report by the American Council for Capital Formation (ACCF), the estate tax, whereby the government taxes bequests received by heirs of wealthy families, has been a contentious issue since the inauguration of President Bush in 2001. Supporters of the tax argue that because it is levied only on the largest 2% of estates, the burden falls only upon wealthy families who can afford to pay.
However, economist N. Gregory Mankiw, chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), says that this simplified view of the estate tax is based on an archaic understanding of tax incidence. That is, economists have long understood that the burden of taxation rarely stays in one place, as individuals and firms pass on costs to others when at all possible.
Mankiw adds that, for a variety of reasons, the net revenues raised through the tax are likely to be zero or negative:
More broadly, Mankiw concludes, the burden of these taxes is almost always assumed to fall on the owners of capital-the burden shifted to labor is generally ignored.
(Source: N. Gregory Mankiw, "CEA Chairman N. Gregory Mankiw Makes the Case for Estate Tax Repeal," American Council for Capital Formation (ACCF), December 2003.)
For the full text of the report, visit the ACCF website: www.accf.org.
Reagan Ranch Sponsors Frank Meyer Seminar
Join young conservatives from around the country at the Reagan Ranch Center, March 12-14, 2004, for the Frank Meyer Seminar, part of Young America's Foundation's "Road to Freedom" series. "Road to Freedom" seminars provide students with an in-depth look at the great thinkers who profoundly influenced Ronald Reagan and the Conservative Movement.
Frank Meyer is the philosopher most identified with the formulation of modern conservative doctrine and its revival as a politically relevant force in politics and society generally. No lesser a personage than Ronald Reagan presented Meyer with that designation.
Meyer's "fusionist" conservatism maintained that Western culture was neither exclusively based upon freedom and rationality nor wholly upon Judeo Christian and European tradition. Rather, it was both-best summarized by the phrase, "libertarian means for traditionalist ends." This Western civilization reached its apex in the American founding, whose history synthesized its values into its major philosophical thesis, The Federalist Papers, its material manifestation, the Constitution, and its earliest flowering recorded in Alexis de Tocqueville's, Democracy in America.
That philosophy remains essential as the main source for America's success today-but the Founders' idea of limited government also has come under stress in a nation that has lost much of its vitality by increasingly looking to national government for solutions to all of life's viscidities. Given this decline, Meyer argued, the main responsibility of the rising generation is to learn this hard won philosophy of the Founders and transfer it in a newly revitalized form to the next generation.
Organized and hosted by distinguished scholar Dr. Donald Devine, this conference is truly an action packed weekend of study and debate. Seminar presenters include Dr. Devine, editor of www.conservativebattleline.com and vice chairman of the American Conservative Union; Eugene B. Meyer, president of the Federalist Society; Alan Ebenstein, author and professor of philosophy; and Floyd Brown, executive director of Young Americas' Foundation.
For more information on registration, visit the Reagan Ranch website: www.reaganranch.com.
Public Education Guide On Mass Immigration
Conservative grassroots activists concerned about immigration issues will want to acquire a small, informative booklet, Common Sense on Mass Immigration, that can be distributed in bulk at candidate forums, churches and public policy seminars.
The attractive 40-page booklet, edited by John H. Tanton, fits easily into a shirt or coat pocket and offers 18 brief essays by leading immigration reformers, including: Roy Beck, Dan Stein, Craig Nelsen, Rosemary Jenks, Richard Lamm, Edwin Rubenstein, Wayne Lutton, and Peter Brimelow.
The essays show how mass and illegal immigration have an impact on important public policy issues: terrorism, national security, bilingual education, crime, health-care costs, suburban sprawl, taxes, Social Security and welfare costs, jobs, and driver's licenses for illegal aliens.
The booklet contains an essay on national security by Peter Gadiel, J.D., who lost his son in the World Trade Center attacks and it is dedicated to Kristopher William Eggle-the National Park Ranger who was murdered on duty at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument near Tucson, Ariz., by illegal alien drug smugglers in August 2002.
For more information, visit: www.commonsenseonmassimmigration.us.
