The Bush budget is an amazing document, Matt Taibbi says at smirkingchimp.com: "It envisions a complete repeal of the Estate Tax, which mainly affects only those who are in the top two-tenths of the top one percent of the richest people in this country."
He gives some examples, which he got from Senator Bernie Sanders office, of how much some families will save in taxes and basically how Bush plans to pay for it.
"If the Estate Tax were to be repealed completely, the estimated savings to just one family -- the Walton family, the heirs to the Wal-Mart fortune -- would be about $32.7 billion dollars over the next ten years. The Bush budget propose reductions to Medicaid over the same time frame? $28 billion."
He gives some other examples:
* Cox family receives $9.7 billion tax break while education would get $1.5 billion in cuts
* Nordstrom family receives $826.5 million tax break while Community Service Block Grants would be eliminated, a $630 million cut
* Ernest Gallo family receives a $468.4 million cut while LIHEAP (heating oil to poor) would get a $420 million cut.
And he notes:
"... the family of former Exxon/Mobil CEO Lee Raymond, who received a $400 million retirement package, would receive about $164 million in tax breaks. Compare that to the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, which Bush proposes be completely eliminated, at a savings of $108 million over ten years. The program sent one bag of groceries per month to 480,000 seniors, mothers and newborn children."
But you won't see any discussion of this in the mainstream corporate media. They are far more interested in Britney Spears.
The whole Matt Taibbi article can be found at:
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/5641#comment-41024