Wealth and Our Commonwealth: Why America Should Tax Accumulated Fortunes.

• Author: Gallagher, Tom
• Position: Brief Article - Book Review

Wealth and Our Commonwealth: Why America Should Tax Accumulated Fortunes By William H. Gates Sr. and Chuck Collins Beacon Press. 166pages. $15.

There is apparently no limit to how much the rich will spend to convince the rest of us that they don't have enough money. Wealth and Our Commonwealth is the story of the campaign to repeal the estate tax--or the "death tax," as its opponents call it. Framed as a campaign to preserve small family businesses, the effort is funded by some pretty big family businesses, like the $875 million Gallo wineries and the $27 billion Mars candy company.

This book defends the legitimacy of the...