Words matter not only for their overt meaning but for their emotional context. The American conflict that occurred between 1861 and 1865 was in large part a war of northern aggression -- but that labeling ignores that the first shots were fired by the southerners or that the southern states aggressively confiscated land and resources from the Federal government (arms, ammunition, forts, courthouses, etc.) before any shots were fired.
The difference between calling something an estate tax and a death tax makes no difference in the mathematics behind who has to pay what, but emotionally taxing someone because they died seems punitive whereas taxing someone's assets after they die largely because they didn't pay taxes on them when they were alive seems fair.
We need look no further than conflicting accounts of the events of Jan. 6 to see not only how descriptions vary, but also an attempt to rewrite very recent "history."
Interesting perspective.
ReplyDeleteWords matter not only for their overt meaning but for their emotional context. The American conflict that occurred between 1861 and 1865 was in large part a war of northern aggression -- but that labeling ignores that the first shots were fired by the southerners or that the southern states aggressively confiscated land and resources from the Federal government (arms, ammunition, forts, courthouses, etc.) before any shots were fired.
ReplyDeleteThe difference between calling something an estate tax and a death tax makes no difference in the mathematics behind who has to pay what, but emotionally taxing someone because they died seems punitive whereas taxing someone's assets after they die largely because they didn't pay taxes on them when they were alive seems fair.
Very interesting, Warren.
ReplyDeleteWe need look no further than conflicting accounts of the events of Jan. 6 to see not only how descriptions vary, but also an attempt to rewrite very recent "history."
ReplyDelete