THE U.S. SENATE, NO DOUBT MOTIVATED MORE BY POLITICS THAN PRINCIPLE,
nonetheless did the right thing last week and in separate actions voted to repeal the estate tax and the marriage penalty. A few Democrats (eight on one vote, nine on the other) joined the Republican majority in approving the tax breaks, but the margin wasn’t big enough to override President Clinton’s threatened veto.
But just getting these tax cuts this far along in the process is progress. When OC congressman Chris Cox first introduced his version of the estate tax repeal in 1993, he didn’t have a co-sponsor. Back then, even Republicans thought the issue too hot to touch. It wasn’t quite ready for prime time a year later, either, when Newt Gingrich omitted the death-tax repeal from his Contract with America.
Since then, though, the roaring economy has moved many Americans up on the tax scale, created more personal fortunes and caused government coffers to swell. So now politicians seem to sense a new mood in the country: Let people keep more of what they earn, let them pass more onto their children, restrict Washington’s ability to spend even more money.
So the Republicans, with an eye on November, zig toward tax cuts. And the Democrats? Presidential candidate Al Gore zagged with a doozie last week: A constitutional amendment for crime victims’ rights. Uh, Al, where have you been the past eight years? Give it up, Al, crime ain’t your issue.
