Ch. 1. What kind of nation do we want to be?: Revenue loss and tax burden shift ; The impact on state treasuries ; The estate tax and inequality ; The dangers of inequality today ; Concentrated wealth and democracy ; Concentrated wealth and equality of opportunity ; Growing inequality is bad economic policy ; Inequality and our civic and public health ; Does the estate tax have an impact?
Ch. 2. The origins of America's estate tax: American values : the roots of the estate tax ; The gilded age and movement for an estate tax ; Early estate taxation ; Supporters of the estate tax ; The establishment of the estate tax
Ch. 3. Opposition to the estate tax: The effort to repeal the estate tax ; Inside the D.C. beltway ; "Death tax" : what's in a name? ; Orange county, California ; Seattle, Washington ; Hiding the real face of real estate taxpayers ; The estate tax down on the farm ; The estate tax and family-owned enterprises ; The case for repeal: unsound and misleading arguments ; Is the estate tax unfair because it punishes successful people? ; Why penalize people who leave their hard-earned savings and wealth to their children? ; Is the estate tax a form of double taxation? ; Does the estate tax penalize the little guys? ; Does the estate tax raise enough revenue to cover the cost of collecting it? ; Is the top rate of the estate tax too high? ; How much does the estate tax really raise?
Ch. 4. The showdown: Budget showdown ; Fiscal responsibility and the rising costs of estate tax repeal ; Organizing to oppose complete repeal ; The estate tax : a summary of changes
Ch. 5. What we owe our society: A religious perspective on wealth and society ; What is it worth to be an American? ; The estate tax and charitable giving ; Will charities lose without the estate tax? ; A new spirit of giving? ; What about the children?: the dangers of the silver spoon.