My father was born into a very poor family. They were so poor that they could not afford to send him to high school, so my Dad only went to 8th grade. And, at 15, he left home and began to provide for himself.
However, that did not deter my Dad. He learned carpentry by finishing correspondence courses in architecture and simply through hard work.. He was such a good worker that he became a foreman for many homes by the time he was 19. By his early 20s, he worked for EF Hauserman as a foreman and traveled throughout the country to support his wife and 3 children.
My Mom was a hard worker, too. So, when my parents bought a store in northern Wisconsin, they used their own money to finance it. They worked 16 hour days and did everything to keep themselves solvent, including building additions to the store, learning how to stock and order, and how to keep their financial house in order.
No government subsidies helped them nor did they expect anyone to give them a leg up.
Throughout their entire married life, over 60 years, they scrimped and saved and invested in the stock market. There were no fancy cars nor fancy houses for them. They neither asked for, nor received, help from any government agencies.
My Mom passed away 9 years ago and my Dad died last November.
Their estate is significant in size, not because of any government help; but, because they were willing to learn new skills, to work themselves to the bone, and to take chances in the stock market.
So, President Obama, don’t tell me that the government built their estate. In fact, the government is going to take a significant portion of the estate my parents left us. This is money that has been taxed over and over again. However, for some strange reason, people like you, Mr. President, feel that you have the right to take even more and call it an estate tax when everyone knows it is a death tax.
No, Mr. President, you did NOT help my Mom and Dad. You and your minions have done everything in your power to tax my parents into oblivion. The fact that there are some monies left in their estate is NO THANKS TO THE GOVERNMENT; BUT, because my DAD — AND MOM –worked harder, learned more, and, yes, took chances when others did not. My Dad and Mom, not the government, were the ones who succeeded.