Statement of RW Member Martin Rothenberg, Urging Veto of Estate Tax Repeal

White House Press Briefing, August 31, 2000 2:25 EDT

As you heard, my name is Martin Rothenberg, and I am from Syracuse, New York, not far from where the president is going to be this weekend.

Apparently, when the Republicans in Congress were writing the bill the president just vetoed, they were thinking about me. I am part of that top 2 percent of wealthy Americans who stand to gain a windfall from the repeal of the estate tax. But let me tell you about myself and why I believe that vetoing this bill is the right thing for America.

In many cases wealth doesn't come from an individual's labor but from a long deceased forbearer who passed it on to his children and grandchildren. And even when the wealth is generated in the current generation, it's a product of hard work and maybe some financial risk, yes, but in most cases it also resulted from a strong economy and a lot of help from society.

In my own case, I received a good public-school education paid for by others, used free libraries and museums paid for by others. I went to college under the GI Bill. I went to graduate school to study computers and language on a complete government scholarship, paid for by others. While teaching at Syracuse University for 25 years, my research was supported by numerous government grants, again, paid for by others.

Now, that research formed the basis for a language technology company I formed in 1991 with some graduate students and my son, Larry. And that year also coincided with the onset of the present technology-driven economic expansion. As a result, five years later, that company sold for $30 million, a sizeable part of which went to my family and me. At the time of the sale, I never once heard any complaints from my family about the possibility of part of their inheritance going toward an estate tax.

That's because we all believe that paying your estate tax does not mean you are choosing between taking care of your children and grandchildren, and giving back to society. You can do both. Through planning, I was able to give -- to provide well for my family, and upon my death, when my family pays estate tax, we are helping to finance those things that benefitted me and others from more humble backgrounds -- a good education, money for research and targeted investment in poor communities, to help bring opportunity to all Americans.

In my own case, after adequately providing for my children, I used my financial windfall to set up a family foundation, run by my daughter, Sandra, to help less fortunate children get a good education. The estate tax encouraged me to do this, and that was good. And experts say that with the total repeal of the estate tax, charities will lose substantially, and I believe that.

Equally important, we all share the feeling that the growing divide between the poor and the extremely wealthy is a real threat to our nation's prosperity. We'll all lose, rich and poor, when our society becomes divided. And the estate tax is one important tool to keep that from happening.

While targeted estate tax relief may well be needed for some farmers and small business owners, it is not needed for people like me or my family.

Mr. President, I'm a member of the organization Responsible Wealth, a network of wealthy Americans -- there's a couple of other people here from that organization -- that, among our other positions, strongly supports your veto of the estate tax repeal. My family and I and others in Responsible Wealth applaud your efforts to stand up to the special interests that want this unwarranted and dangerous tax break. We want every American to have the same opportunities that I had to build a prosperous future for their children and grandchildren.

Mr. President, let's keep the American economy growing. Let's take care of our children and our seniors, and let's make public education a priority, and let's extend this current prosperity to every one of our citizens.