President Bush, the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association have asserted that the estate tax is destroying family farms.
None, however, have cited a case of a farm lost to estate taxes, although in June 2001 Mr. Bush said he had talked to such farmers.
For too long, the estate tax debate has operated in a universe distinctly unhinged from reality. It's not about "family farms" and proponents of repeal should stop pretending that it is.