Apparently, the Chron editorial page was taken over by a Republican National Committee member with a talking points list today. That’s the only explanation I can come up with for this entry, which uses the phrase “death tax” and makes it sound as though it mostly falls on hardworking farmers and small business owners instead of rich folk.
No mention of how much the repeal of this tax will cost the Treasury, though you can be sure that the crack staff at the Chron will bleat in righteous indignation at Congress when the pesky deficit refuses to go away.
There’s a case to be made against the estate tax, but this ain’t it. This is propaganda.
Sure, the phrase “death tax” is agitprop, but no more so than “urban sprawl” or “smart growth.” The Chronicle is used to utilizing these kinds of phrases, as are most major media sources, it seems.