A Strange Argument for Repealing the Estate Tax

John Tamny argues that redistributing wealth is per se a reduction in savings:

Furthermore, it’s not just morally wrong for the government to use the estate tax to redistribute wealth, it’s also bad economic policy. Wealth by definition is savings. When savings are confiscated for government use, entrepreneurial opportunities in need of capital go wanting in favor of immediate consumption.

Actually – savings represents the flow increase in the stock of wealth over time. Furthermore, the issue at hand is how the tax burden should be distributed across the population. Those who are arguing for a restoration of the estate tax are doing so in order to relieve the tax burden on less wealthy individuals. If Mr. Tamny wishes to complain about increases in government spending, let me suggest he criticized those currently making the appropriation decisions, which are our current GOP leaders he so willingly carries the water for.