Liberal comedian Bill Maher made an out-of-this-world comparison to poke a hole in the Republican argument that the estate tax threatens the livelihoods of "family farmers." "More astronauts have been to the moon than farmers who paid the inheritance tax in 2013."
If you don’t know much about Bill Maher, he is a well-known liberal pundit who is often at the center of controversy over his statements.
Maher took on the claim from Republicans that the estate tax hurts small farmers.
Is his statement just a hyperbole or is it a fact?
According to a recent article in Pundit Fact, titled "Bill Maher says more Americans have been to the moon than farmers who paid the estate tax in 2013," there may be some truth to Maher's claim.
More Americans have not walked on the moon than farmers who paid the estate tax. However, if you add up all of the Americans who have walked on the moon and who have orbited the moon, then Maher's claim turns out to be true.
To date, 24 Americans have walked on or orbited the moon, while 20 small farmers paid the estate tax in 2013.
Of course, just because Maher's statement happens to be somewhat accurate does not mean that it is a telling statement.
The real question is whether the 20 small farmers who paid the estate tax should have had to have paid it.
Read the original article for a good overview of the estate tax/death tax issue.
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Reference: Pundit Fact (April 23, 2015) "Bill Maher says more Americans have been to the moon than farmers who paid the estate tax in 2013,"