We can do this without any drop in government services very easily. In the process we'd also be supporting capitalism and individual hard work immensely. Just raise inheritance tax. Most people pay less through income tax than they would through the death tax, yet it causes them more problems b/c it's harder to save money, invest, etc. Material rewards don't make dead people happy or encourage good behavior for them. Decreasing inheritances also makes spoiled rich kids have to work, and if their "skills" at capitalism consisted only of leeching off their rich families, they will soon have to be useful to the country.

this sort of sounds like social security for the country as opposed to for just an individual citizen....

Well, we do have to raise inheritance tax a bit to make this possible. Taxes are unavoidable if we want the gov't functioning, but the current system is screwed up. Conservatives say the rich pay too much; liberals say they don't pay enough. But when you're dead it doesn't really matter how much you pay; you're dead! And if we charge a flat rate on inheritance, it is completely fair. Poor dead people don't need that money for the cost of living (if they even have anything to be taxed anyway), and rich dead people won't have their hard work wasted.

good point...but would the taxes made on inheritance cover ALL (or even most) of our social programs? I'd like an economists perspective.

I certainly think it's a good idea. If an inheritance tax covered what income taxes cover (and i think it's a stretch), than your on the right track. If not, and let's say 1 social program is cut, then you'll have a lot of unhappy lefties.

-conservakid