The New Economy

February 19th 2087 Letter to Miss Aceline Benoit from her brother Mr. Adal Oate of Albany, New York.

I write you again, dear sister, concerning our unfortunate brother Mallory. This past weekend I found him a guest in my home, and though I could not get out of him more than two words concerning his present financial condition (which I will not repeat here) I gathered from his demeanor and the state of his clothing that it must be very grave. Indeed, I fear that he may have fallen so far as to be on his last million dollars (obviously this is an exaggeration, or else I would be in tears, but I feel I need to shock you, for the situation is far from trivial).

His descent is, of course, tragic, but I need hardly say that the potential damage his present condition could do to our family's reputation is also troubling. What will be said in the more important social circles if he is no longer able even to afford his apartment in the City? My son will soon be applying to the more prestigious universities and at the very least I would like to delay our brother's ignominy until his acceptance is assured. I would urge you, dear sister, to write to him, or call him if you have to, as I believe you might have a power over him beyond me.

This whole wretched affair has put me in a thoroughly philosophical mood, as wretched affairs tend to do, and I cannot end this letter without sharing with you some of my musings. They are, I assure you, topical, for I really blame what has happened to our brother on the economic system in this country.

I need not remind you, I am sure, that it was five years ago that our brother for the first time had to pay taxes (so low had his income sunk, though sadly he was rich then in comparison to his present state). Surely this sudden offense is what ruined him. And I rightly state it as offensive; our family has not had to pay any taxes since the Federal Exemption Act of 2044. It is my firm belief that there is a supreme injustice in that law. It exempts all those from income and other taxes who have assets of at least 2,000,000% of the poverty level. But I feel strongly that some consideration should be given to family. When a family has been for a long time, as ours has, eligible for the exemption (and not just barely I might add) there ought to still be an exception for them if they happen to fall below it from time to time. As it currently stands, the law is entirely unforgiving. Our brother Mallory met some slight financial misfortune, but that was then compounded by the addition of a yearly tax on his income. How can he recover his wealth when the government is taking in 15% or 20% of his income yearly?

And yet, after some research on the part of one of my more intelligent and capable servants, I am pleased to report that this amendment is not inconceivable. There have, apparently, been recent movements in the legislature for just such a change to the law. There is obviously plenty of support among the Conservative Party, but many Republican lawmakers support the bill for family exceptions as well (perhaps some of them have the same problem as we? Or perhaps the Republicans are beginning to see the error of their ways... one can only hope). I believe that such an alteration would be the right and just culmination of a trend which I trace back to the turn of the millennium (I know, dear sister, how you hate my obsession with history, but I cannot resist one last little tangent!).

I believe it was in the first decade of this century that our modern class system began to develop. Several historians I have read trace the trend towards separate classes as far back as the 1980s (imagine, a century ago! Do you remember those quaint pictures we always laughed at in the museums? And their music! Ha, how dull and quiet it was then) and the growing income gap that began under Reagan. But I feel that since there was still a Democratic president in that century (you may remember reading about the Democratic party in school, they were the radical liberals that still had several House and Senate seats up until the 50s). We must start with 2000, this century. I believe by this time many wealthy families had found ways to evade taxes anyway (if it had not been for those trailblazers...) and this was encouraged by the downsizing of the IRS auditing section that dealt with that income group under the Bush Administration (one of the acts of that administration that allows me to forgive those centrists). The important first step was taken in 2011 when the estate tax was finally repealed (and yet lawmakers had to use the argument that it was double-taxation, rather than arguing the principle of taxing upper class citizens, in order to get the bill passed. Remember that at this time there was no test or tax for voting rights...), that was the first bit of tax relief for our class. The flat tax was then passed in 2025, and of course the Federal Exemption Act in 2044, and that brings us to today.

A wonderful progression, is it not? And is it not great to think that this may continue, so that our children may inherent a better life, and a better America?

Regards,
Adal Oate