Obama, Clinton Vote to
Extend/End Bush Tax Cuts

What do "the working poor, married couples, people with children and those inheriting large estates" all have in common?

No, they're not all trending heavily towards Barack Obama.

No, all are beneficiaries of tax cuts in the Senate budget that is "all but certain" to be accepted by the House.

No, seriously, I'm not making this up.

Mind you, I'm fine with cutting taxes for the working poor. Any extra wages they get to keep are more likely to be spent, and stimulate the economy, than tax cuts benefiting wealthy Americans. Tax cuts for married couples and people with children might have similar benefits... but those inheriting large estates?

Here's a little more detail to satisfy your inner wonk:

We can debate the appropriate threshold for the estate tax, as well as the most effective rate, and we should. Just don't tell me that the estate tax should be abolished, or that its the moral equivalent of the Holocaust, as do Grover Norquist and the Club for Growth types.

Isn't it enough to exempt estates worth $5 million for a single person and $10 million for a married couple? Or should we exempt the first $20 million? Or just the first million? How many people are we talking about? Is taxing the amount above $5 or $10 million at the 55% rate too egregious? Is it somehow a disincentive against earning? My millionaire friends all gripe about this... "You know, I would LOVE to have an estate worth $11 million, but I just can't stand the thought of our government taxing that extra million after my wife and I are dead."