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Wednesday, December 3, 2008 12:00 AM

Nepotistic succession in the political class

A large, and rapidly growing, percentage of high elected officials are part of politically powerful families. What accounts for this anti-democratic dynamic?
Glenn Greenwald

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  • Wednesday, December 3, 2008 08:22 AM

    Amerigo

    Add a 5th point to your four:

    5. Our popular culture is tending towards promoting aristocracy over meritocracy as the norm. Kids are exposed to this idea by Disney at a quite early age (Lion King, and countless others).

    As for the inherited wealth point, that is a very good one, and brings out why we desperately need a capital gains tax that is progressive and comparable to the income tax, and why we desperately need to restore a proper estate tax. For "death tax" it is not. Al Franken more properly termed it the "Paris Hilton Tax."

    —ramoncreager Read ramoncreager's other letters

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