Demagogue

So the "death tax" is dead, victim in part of having been renamed. Animator Mark Fiore--whose stuff is hilarious and worth viewing regularly in any case--inspired me with his latest piece. Fiore says the "death tax" is being replaced by the "pauper tax" (the new bankruptcy bill), the "baby tax" (the deficit), and so on.

With some creativity, we should be able to come up with a few really good ones. Personally, I'd prefer "birth tax" to "baby tax," since it mirrors the "death tax." Similarly, Fiore says "no conservation=lung tax," but I'd refine it to "Clear Skies Initiative=breathing tax." Maybe that one's not so good, since it doesn't directly involve taking money from people. Lack of health insurance for many people could be the "sickness tax," but that's criticizing something the GOP has failed to do, rather than something it's done--and the Dems haven't accomplished much on that front either when they've been in power. Cuts in guaranteed S.S. benefits: "retirement tax?"

None of my off-the-cuff ideas really does it. Can anyone do better?