I rarely rate anything this highly, especially on opinion piece, but this was stellar. Kinsley exposes the debate over the estate tax as largely symbolic and vapid. Incisive without being partisan.

Thoughtful opinion about the estate tax, which Congress is considering reinstating this year. The author provides a well-reasoned argument in favor of the tax, and discusses this debate fairly and responsibly.

An excellent piece that cuts through the rhetoric to offer a sharp, non-apologetic opinion on the estate tax. The comparison with AIG compensations is done with nuance, but is still illustrative and thought provoking.

Insightful. Points out a detail about a Congressional vote (these 10 mysterious Democrats) that may not be getting much press, and seems to deserve a much closer look. Kinsley makes draws some conclusions about this vote, but leaves his original question largely unanswered: why are they voting this way? (I'd still like to know.)

Kinsley scans the economics and the politics and finds strange landscape, but perhaps does not dig deep enough to fully engage this socio-economic-political problem in our nation. Perhaps Kinsley could help us by telling the wealth of these ten Democrats and listing the political donations they have received, and from whom. Hiltzik has a good column on the estate tax in the LA Times.

There's only one reason ten Senators would vote to increase. Money. When they leave the Senate, the really big dealers, the billionaires, might just have jobs waiting for their kids, grandkids and their kids.