Bad cop runs I-920 anti-estate tax group

You wouldn't think we had that much woodwork around this state any more what with suburban sprawl and all the clear cutting.

But they still must have somewhere to crawl out from under around here, as exhibited on Ross Reynolds' The Conversation (KUOW m-f, 1-2p), the respected public radio issues debate show.

Today's show was on I-920, the initiative to repeal the state's only progressive tax- the estate tax.

Crawling out into the light of day was the initiative's honcho, Dennis Falk, the Fox Island John Bircher who's spending real estate gazillionaire Martin Selig's money to get the tax repealed.

They spent enough to pay signature gatherers and get the special interest bill on the ballot with signatures to spare.

Falk is not only an extremist politically, he's a disgraced Seattle cop who got notorious in the l960's as a beat cop in the U District. According to The PI's Neil Modie, in that period of heightened street tension, and antiwar protests, he wore "lead-lined leather gloves to gain "respect" on The Ave until the mayor ordered him transferred off the beat."

In 1978, he sponsored an anti-gay rights initiative in the City of  Seattle, but in the middle of the campaign, according to Modie, "Falk triggered a storm of protests for shooting to death a fleeing, mentally retarded man who had a criminal record. An inquest jury, in a 4-2 vote, said the shooting was 'reasonable under the circumstances.'"

The tax which effects less than 2% of Washington taxpayers- just a few of the rich ones- is earmarked for specific educational programs. It's the ultraconservatives of the John Birch Society stripe and the Greed Lobby of the Ungrateful Rich who's mostly backing this.

(For those who don't remember the John Birchers- they're an orthodox conservative, anti-Semitic organization who believe in New World Order conspiracies á la Pat Roberts. Their heyday was in the early 1960's when Birchers scared their children by telling them Communists were under their beds. By the 1970's, however, parents scared their children by telling them the Birchers were under their bed, which indeed, some of them were).   

Falk's appeal was emotional. He painted a picture of craven government appraisers descending on grieving families, and yanking the wedding ring off the dearly beloved grandma's cold dead finger to sell to the highest bidder in order to spend on wasteful social programs.

He said the evil tax (which has been in place since 1921) was driving out small business and providing an "onerous burden" on families. "It's morally wrong," he said.

(As a moral standard bearer, he pointed to Tom Stewart, the former Vashon Island Republican grocery wholesaler who pled guilty to federal election finance charges in 1998, who has moved to Arizona to avoid paying the tax.)

Our favorite moment was when Falk corrected Reynolds, saying, "It's usually called the 'death tax.'" Reynolds said quickly, "By its critics..."

"Yeah," said the none-too-swift Falk, "by its critics."

Sandeep Kaushik, communications director for the anti-920 group, who's never, according to sources attempted to gained anyone's respect with anything lead-lined, helped Reynolds wring the surreality from the debate environment by reasonably stating the case for the status quo.

"Washington taxes include no income tax, no capital gains tax, and property taxes are deductible," Kaushik said, "This is a stand alone tax is without much impact," he said. "there's no onerous burden on anyone."

The thoughtful KUOW audience is the choir, however. Even though an Elway poll gives the tax-cutting measure low popularity numbers at present, the lavish expenditures of Selig could ignite the all-too-familiar demogoguery of the tax grouch element.

You'd think, though, they could have chosen a director without so much homophobic, police brutish, extreme right baggage.

Comments

[sparky]

The Gates family and the Buffet family are both for keeping the estate tax...they feel the rich are more than able to survive paying it, with much more left over where that came from.

Good enough for me....

[mountolympus]

what do you mean, by:

"You'd think, though, they could have chosen a director without so much homophobic, police brutish, extreme right baggage. "

Who is "they"?

the committee to abolish the estate tax is like all falk. He's the sponsor too. Sure, he gets his money from selig, but he's kinda like eyman - almost a one person dog and pony show.

[joanie]

I think if they run enough ads proclaiming "death tax" and leave out the particulars, it'll pass. Opponents need an equally attention-getting slogan which will grab emotions on the part of otherwise our ill-informed citizenry.

Dave Ross is sure trying to inform his listeners about the "development" initiative (I can never remember numbers) and I think he's gonna have to get some sort of reasonable campaign going against this one as well.

He's got a lot on his menu this election! I think he was very persuasive regarding the defeat of the last gas-tax/roads initiative.

[lukobe]

I don't like certain things about the current estate tax, but will be voting AGAINST its repeal, because currently the state estate tax is a credit against the federal estate tax. That is to say, if the state estate tax is repealed but the federal estate tax remains, you still have to pay your tax--but it's *all* to the feds...whereas if both are in place, a good portion (though not all) of it goes to the state instead.

I would like to see some changes to the way the estate tax is implemented, though.... they are unlikely to happen, however. The political will is either behind its complete repeal or behind leaving it as is or expanding it.

[John]

Free market economists so very rarely assume altruism, why then do they specially designate inheritance as an exception? Selfishness is by far the overriding motivation for humans. If you take the typical economist’s view and look to selfish motivations as the true incentive, one has to come to the conclusion that the estate tax is beneficial.

http://againstthecurrent-omaha.blogspot.com/2006/07/thinking-through-estate-tax-inequality.html

[cowpotpi3]

The main reason I can think of as to why I would keep the Estate Tax is the revenue shortfall its repeal would create. Who is going to pay up for the money that the rich folks would keep? The middle class, that's who.