[vetiver]

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you really think i'm jealous of those people?

maybe of brian townsend or howard schulz or richard branson or others who got to incredible heights thru sheer determination that was likely instilled in them by amazing parents / friends / environment that i didn't have, but certainly not some member of the hilton or rockefeller family. i pity them, as im sure does any person who derives happiness from the process of making money, and not the proceeds -- to quote mr. buffett. these guys never got the chance to enjoy the process, which brings more true happiness than any amount of money ever could -- not to mention far greater contributions to the advancement of society

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The retardedness of an estate tax is not in the intention of denying half-brained Hilton princesses from inheriting hundreds of millions of dollars. It's in denying the rightful makers and owners of money the right to bestow it anywhere they see fit. This may be in the arts and libraries , like Carnegie and Getty did. It might also be in little gremlin children who we personally would like to strangle. But it's not our judgment to say who gets that money, because we didn't earn it.