Hi Marc, > ...why can you not realize that Eric is > correct in pointing out that, first, estate taxes > play no part in almost all USian families I have never disagreed with that. I just believe it is not relevant to whether the estate tax is right or wrong/fair or unfair. > that estate planning, such as buying insurance > and establishing family trusts, can reduce the > impact of estate taxes on the uber-rich guys such as your family > seems to be. Agreed, but again, why are there such games that must be played? And, my family was hardly "uber-rich". > So, Austin, it seems that you come from a family > which is both in that upper 3% of the > asset-wealthy and which was so inept as not to > engage in sound estate planning. Who said my parents didn't? Marc, you're opining when you simply do not have the facts. And, you're wrong. But, the facts of my family estate are not relevant to the discussion. > Slackers ALWAYS > lose: do the homework before the test, and all is made simple. So, my father and mother were both inept and slackers, eh? After graduating from Columbia University (which he got scholarships for and paid the rest him self, as he came from a rather poorish family, and we are talking the Great Depression era) he started as an accountant for Welch's (in the early 1930s) and worked his way up. Eventually, he was the CFO (they called them Treasurer back then) of Hewitt Robbins, Ingalls Shipbuilding and Litton Industries during the 60's and early 70's. He was with Litton companies for something like 40 years (a concept that people and corporations do not have today), and left Litton in 1973. He then consulted for a number of companies until he actually retired in 1978. My mother graduated from New York School of Design and worked as an illustrator for Women's Wear Daily (again, in the early 30's). She was also a clothing designer, and an accomplished ballerina. I have pictures and programs from some of her performances in NYC. My parents were hardly inept and hardly slackers. Their estate was planned quite well, thank you. Whether my family did or did not have their estate well planned has no bearing on the discussion. The "rules" should not be in place such that they only apply to people who pull the right levers and push the right buttons. And, they did not pay for my college, or much of anything for that matter. I worked more than a 40 hour week in order to pay for my college while going to college full time, plus what money I saved prior to going to college. I got a Chevy Vega from my parents during High School. That's it. It wasn't new either. But, what I got most from them were ethics, a great work ethic, manners, values and a sense of personal responsibility. Things that taxing, like the estate tax, diminishes IMO. Austin --- Rollei List - Post to rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx - Subscribe at rollei_list-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'subscribe' in the subject field OR by logging into www.freelists.org - Unsubscribe at rollei_list-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the subject field OR by logging into www.freelists.org - Online, searchable archives are available at //www.freelists.org/archives/rollei_list