> >Democratic foes of repeal advocate the redistribution of wealth, ``an >old Marxist idea that has been rejected everywhere in the world but >still has appeal'' in the United States, Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, said >Tuesday as debate began.
Good old Gramm, past master in the uses of the Big Lie in political rhetoric. Gramm's comment is, of course, stunningly and redundantly contrary to fact, most obviously because most other developed countries engage in much more redistribution of wealth than the US (though I was distressed to learn that Italy has repealed its inheritance tax). Second, "redistribution of wealth" is not only not a specifically Marxist idea (much too timid a social change from a Marxist standpoint), but it's one that obviously precedes Marx (e.g., an article in the most recent American Prospect notes that pre-Marxist James Madison wrote in favor of progressive redistribution to combat social stratification). Propagandist Gramm has also been flogging the "death tax" chestnut, even arguing the "immorality" of "taxing death," oblivious to the fact that although 100% of the U.S. population (eventually) die, only 2% pay the inheritance tax. And yet Democrats largely cede the moral high ground to reactionary ideologues like Gramm by not challenging such absurd claims. Gil
