Bush to Tour Mansions Ravaged by Estate Tax
posted by Rick at 7:19 PM

From the Swift Report:

President George W. Bush is encouraging Congress to focus on perhaps the most dire issue facing the nation today: the estate tax and its devastating impact on the richest Americans. Mr. Bush said that repealing the tax could aid tens, even dozens of Americans. Former FEMA chief and Arabian horse expert Michael Brown has been tapped to reach out to the victims of the tax ...

President Bush plans to visit Bridgehampton, NY, Aspen, CO and Rancho Santa Fe, CA later this week, where he will tour the mansions of some of the Americans hardest hit by the tax. Aides to the President say that he will first survey the properties from the air in an effort to assess the impact of the estate tax on landscaping, pool maintenance and fleets of cars ... Air Force One will be accompanied by cargo planes loaded with emergency supplies for the mansion occupants. On its way: individual servings of fois gras, chilled veuve clicquot with champagne flutes and an allotment of truffles for residents who have gone without them for as many as two days.

On a more serious note, factcheck.org has a page debunking two more or less typical pieces of right-wing rhetoric aimed at reversing the public's 2-to-1 opposition to repeal of the Rich Kids' Tax - which had been part of American law since the Stamp Act of 1797 and was advocated in its modern form by millionaire Andrew Carnegie and Republican President Theodore Roosevelt.

Thanks to the Green Dog Democrat for sharing the Swift Report article, and for additional background.