Posted 12/5/2012 13:23 (#2734379 - in reply to #2734097) Subject: RE: What is the heart of the problem?
To me the real issue is the inability to transfer a farm to the next generation for them to build on. Thinking with the tin foil hat I've thought that this was a way to keep hard working families from gaining political power - ie. after several generations of passing on the increase, there would be a generation of the family with considerable financial means and influence possibly without a degree from Harvard (gads! heaven forbid). Anyway, in the 80's usually a third of the ground needed to be sold to pay the tax burden and at the time there just wasn't the cash laying around to prevent it. So, farms broke up around here pretty regularly. Maybe this no longer matters since a high percentage of the heirs just want the cash anyway.