You Say Compromise, I Say Sell-Out

Some have probably heard of the House’s recent attempt to pass some tax reform for the ridiculous Estate Tax. Despite having a clear majority, House Republicans felt the need to compromise with Democrats and finally addressed the long-dormant issue of a minimum wage hike.

The idea was the minimum wage would be raised to $7.25/hour incrementally over the next few years. In exchange for this rather large economy-stalling job-killing welfare increase, the Republicans included a provision that would exempt estates worth less than $5 million (or $10 million for couples) from having to pay Estate Tax. There would be a graduated scale for those with more valuable estates, with a 15% tax on estates valued from $10 million to $25 million and a 30 percent tax on estates that were valued at more than $25 million.

Granted, this was a bit of a sell-out itself, as the idea had been all along to abolish the Estate Tax. We obviously aren’t going to be that lucky, but I see the need to appear that “the rich” weren’t getting any significant break. God forbid we should ever reward success in this country.

Even more ironically, Senate Democrats (including the minimum wage’s chief champion Teddy “Chappaquiddick” Kennedy) killed the measure decrying a “dirty trick” by Republicans to try and tack on rich people reform to their noble attempt to help the poor. So there’s still no minimum wage hike or estate tax break nor will there be. Nothing will be done before the November elections and likely nothing will get done afterwards. Expect at least gridlocked split Houses of Congress at that point or Democrat control, so either way the Estate Tax is here to stay.

There is substantial evidence of and arguments regarding the damage caused by minimum wage laws, most notably from esteemed professor Walter Williams. That the House Republicans were so willing to compromise on such a left-centric issue shows how far they’ve fallen and how much of the conservative base they’re willing to sell out. Sadly, even this weak attempt at compromise was shot down by the Democrats who have clearly shown there can be no compromise. There can only be the Left’s agenda. Anything else must be stopped and this is what the November election will help ratify one way or another.

At least there was some success in getting a bill passed to allow for drilling and oil and natural gas exploration in the Gulf and on the coasts. I might remind you that Cuba with the help of China is already beginning exploration in that same shelf and could tap significant quantities of that resource before the U.S. could even get out of the gate, thus negating environmentalists requirements that they be kept pristine. Cuba, it seems, does not feel the need to follow the EnviroLeft’s agenda in this regard. Still, the bill has to make it out of committee to reconcile the different versions of the House and Senate. We can only pray the more expansive House version wins out.

The latest drilling bill and the previous bills on illegal immigration do show that when the House puts its mind to it, it has some chops. Since it’s obvious the Democrats has forgotten what compromise is, there is perhaps no need for the Republicans to keep pursuing it as if they were the minority party, which they may be again in a few months. Again, November will tell.