Rubin, Trumka find common ground on estate tax

The unlikely duo of AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and former Treasury secretary Robert Rubin told reporters on a conference call Wednesday that the estate tax — which has lapsed since the beginning of the year — should be put back in place before the August congressional break.

When asked why they both support reinstating the tax despite past differences, Trumka joked, “The reason we agree is Bob has finally seen the light.”

Rubin and Trumka have often clashed, with labor leaders warning Democrats to distance themselves from the free-trade policies advocated by Rubin and other Democrats with ties to Wall Street. During the 2008 presidential campaign, Trumka prepared a slideshow presentation arguing it was “hard to tell the difference” between the policies of Rubin and then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who served under a Republican president.

Both Rubin and Trumka said restoring the tax would be “sound policy.”

“You would actually increase demand, not decrease demand, if you restored the estate tax immediately,” Rubin said.  

Rubin said restoring the tax on the wealthy is good economic policy because the new revenue could be used for important fiscal priorities, such as continuing assistance to the unemployed or paying off the national debt. 



Trumka said the government revenue could also be used for job creation measures, such as aid to state and local governments or infrastructure projects.

Restoring the tax is vital for reducing the deficit, Trumka said. 



“Anyone who is for deficit reduction but is opposing reinstating the estate tax is clearly residing on a different planet than working people who are struggling in this economy right now,” Trumka said.