Rich Bastards

Sharing The Sacrifice

"It's been two years since the United States first entered Iraq, but for the majority of Americans—those lucky enough not to have loved ones serving in the Middle East—this doesn't feel like wartime. That's because there's been little interest in Congress about the compromises of war. And no one is less concerned about shared sacrifice than the wealthy, who are getting permanent tax cuts while the war bill is passed onto our children. Chuck Collins of United For A Fair Economy explains why now is the worst possible time to abolish the estate tax—our only tax on accumulated wealth.

"Our present inequality of sacrifice is not lost on some veterans' groups. 'During the Civil War, rich people could buy their way out of the draft,' said Charlie Richardson, co-founder of Military Families Speak Out. 'Now, the wealthy don't have to pay anything to avoid the draft and they get tax cuts on top.'"

Is it any wonder why Dracula was a Count, instead of a peasant?