# If you could apply the death penalty to the use of political rhetoric ..... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 4, 2010, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-apply-the-death-penalty-to-the-use-of-political-rhetoric/562932 "2010-12-04T14:12:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Nightfall1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@Nightfall1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightfall1)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-apply-the-death-penalty-to-the-use-of-political-rhetoric/562932/61 "2010-12-08T14:22:53Z")
kk ---
**Author:** ![Nightfall1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@Nightfall1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightfall1)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-apply-the-death-penalty-to-the-use-of-political-rhetoric/562932/62 "2010-12-08T14:27:21Z")
When someone says they want “Smaller Government” The only time we will get smaller Government is when the whole darn system finally falls apart. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-apply-the-death-penalty-to-the-use-of-political-rhetoric/562932/63 "2010-12-08T16:16:57Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > BFD … it’s paid by somebody because somebody died. It’s paid because it’s income. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-apply-the-death-penalty-to-the-use-of-political-rhetoric/562932/64 "2010-12-08T16:18:43Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > The trigger is death. The trigger is a windfall income. > [@](#): > > But I’ll agree to disagree … at least nobody is still trying to say that the government is giving somebody something when they are actually allowed to keep what is theirs. It’s not theirs. That is money that is owed to the governement. That’s _our_ money. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-apply-the-death-penalty-to-the-use-of-political-rhetoric/562932/65 "2010-12-08T19:36:27Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > The trigger is death. No, the trigger is not death, because not everyone who dies triggers a tax. We can agree that you are wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-apply-the-death-penalty-to-the-use-of-political-rhetoric/562932/66 "2010-12-08T19:42:32Z")
No one else hates “family values”? I would pay good money to see this phrase taken out and shot. What this means is “families in the sense WE define them, not anyone else’s definition.” ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-apply-the-death-penalty-to-the-use-of-political-rhetoric/562932/67 "2010-12-08T22:46:50Z")
“Real Americans” or “Hardworking Americans” - the implication being that anyone the speaker doesn’t agree with or like their politics is NOT a “Real American” or “Hardworking American”. ---
**Author:** ![Gordon\_Urquhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@Gordon\_Urquhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_Urquhart)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-apply-the-death-penalty-to-the-use-of-political-rhetoric/562932/68 "2010-12-08T22:53:35Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > No one else hates “family values”? I would pay good money to see this phrase taken out and shot. What this means is “families in the sense WE define them, not anyone else’s definition.” Because of the bad press the evangelical set has been getting in the last few years, I wonder if “family values” has started to be seen in something of a negative light, so it’s been replaced with phrases like “working families” (which I think still allows the variable definition of what a “family” is). I get really tired of hearing “taxpayer dollars”-- we know who supplied the money, and that it’s not being paid in Euros. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-apply-the-death-penalty-to-the-use-of-political-rhetoric/562932/69 "2010-12-08T23:58:37Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > No, the trigger is not death, because not everyone who dies triggers a tax. We can agree that you are wrong. What is the trigger then? …and not everyone with income pays income tax. Can somebody pleas explain to **Dio** the dif between income and the value of an estate. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-apply-the-death-penalty-to-the-use-of-political-rhetoric/562932/70 "2010-12-09T00:01:05Z")
How about Algore’s “lock box” ?? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-apply-the-death-penalty-to-the-use-of-political-rhetoric/562932/71 "2010-12-09T00:01:28Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > What is the trigger then? Transferring an estate over $1 million, obviously. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-apply-the-death-penalty-to-the-use-of-political-rhetoric/562932/72 "2010-12-09T14:36:27Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Transferring an estate over $1 million, obviously. When you die right? The trigger is death and the parameters include the size of the estate. Just like the trigger for the income tax is receiving income (taxable income that is) in an amount that exceeds your standard deduction and exemptions for all your dependents. But at least I’m feeling alot better about all the income taxes I pay since its not my money I use after all. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-apply-the-death-penalty-to-the-use-of-political-rhetoric/562932/73 "2010-12-09T14:48:06Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > When you die right? The trigger is death and the parameters include the size of the estate. Nope. If death was the trigger, then everyone who died would be subject to the tax. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-apply-the-death-penalty-to-the-use-of-political-rhetoric/562932/74 "2010-12-09T14:49:53Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Can we please take out and shoot “middle class”?! Well, the Republicans have certainly _tried_. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-apply-the-death-penalty-to-the-use-of-political-rhetoric/562932/75 "2010-12-09T14:54:59Z")
“Common-sense regulation” needs to go away forever. It’s a way of acting like the proposed rules are the most reasonable thing ever and by God, how could anybody possibly be against it? Nice rhetorical flourish, but it’s usually a bunch of nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-apply-the-death-penalty-to-the-use-of-political-rhetoric/562932/76 "2010-12-09T21:18:21Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > BFD … it’s paid by somebody because somebody died. Looks at post #55. Looks at post #56. Laughs. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-apply-the-death-penalty-to-the-use-of-political-rhetoric/562932/77 "2010-12-09T22:26:48Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Nope. If death was the trigger, then everyone who died would be subject to the tax. OK OK… no big deal. More importantly what should we call the income tax then… can’t call it the income tax since everybody who has income doesn’t pay it. How about the “[tax in which the top 50% of earners pay about 97% of the tax](http://www.ntu.org/tax-basics/who-pays-income-taxes.html)” tax? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-apply-the-death-penalty-to-the-use-of-political-rhetoric/562932/78 "2010-12-09T23:59:12Z")
Income tax is a tax on income. The “death tax” is not a tax on death. Try again. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-apply-the-death-penalty-to-the-use-of-political-rhetoric/562932/79 "2010-12-10T00:15:18Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Income tax is a tax on income. The “death tax” is not a tax on death. Try again. He will just repeat his point over and over again, because he has drunk the kool-aid. A pitcherful! ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-apply-the-death-penalty-to-the-use-of-political-rhetoric/562932/80 "2010-12-10T01:05:14Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > How about Algore’s “lock box” ?? Starting to sound pretty good right about now, if you’ve been following the economic news of the past 3 years or so. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-apply-the-death-penalty-to-the-use-of-political-rhetoric/562932.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-apply-the-death-penalty-to-the-use-of-political-rhetoric/562932.md?page=5)