Their idea is to divide the available surplus, not including Social Security and Medicare, into thirds and sets aside another 900 billion dollars to pay down the debt. The other third would be used for prescription drugs, education and other programs. And, as Congress gears up to consider the Administration's other tax plan .to eliminate inheritance taxes special interest of an unexpected sort has weighed in against cutting the so-called death tax. From Washington, Marketplace's John Dimsdale explains why. Rockefeller, Buffett, Soros and Gates.
Congressional leaders say they still have the votes to get rid of death taxes.
But supporters maintain it will be approved sometime this year. In Washington, I'm John Dimsdale for Marketplace. Weak profits are the catalyst. While analysts say this is one more sign of a slowing economy and expected shakeouts, in the long term, the computer manufacturing sector is still on pretty solid ground. Today's announcement comes on the heels of a hiring freeze by Cisco systems, a major computer networking equipment manufacturer.