Cooking in the West

As the election draws nearer, I feel compelled to point out that Joe Biden’s 4 trillion dollar tax plan would raise taxes on all of our households both in life and at death, according to analysis by the Tax Policy Center. Biden has set his sights on all estates including businesses, farms, and ranches, but he is taking a different tack from merely raising rates on wealth transfer. He proposes to levy a tax on unrealized appreciation of assets passed on at death.

“When someone dies and the asset transfers to an heir, that transfer itself will be a taxable event, and the estate is required to pay taxes on the gains as if they sold the asset,” said Howard Gleckman, senior fellow in the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. "By taxing the unrealized gain at death, heirs would get hit at the transfer, regardless of whether they sell the asset," Biden’s proposal would tax an asset’s unrealized appreciation at transfer, according to the Tax Policy Center.

This is extremely distressing to those of us in agriculture who are hoping to pass down our generations of legacy in the form of farms and ranches to the next generation. Presently, the so-called estate and gift tax exemption is $11.58 million per individual. This means that as a ranching couple we can pass down any amount up to 23.16 million dollars worth of property to our heirs so they do not pay an estate/gift tax on that land, which has been taxed since it was assessed for taxes in 1889.

If the Biden tax plan were to become law, upon our death, our heirs will be handed a tax bill that would be so large they would have to sell property that has been in our families since the early 1900's just to pay that tax bill. If that seems wrong to you, do not vote for it!

Back in 2010, there was an estate tax holiday, so I wrote this piece entitled, "I Think the Children Are Trying to Kill Us." It seems like a fitting time to run it again just in case there is a chance that Joe's tax plan prevails, and we need to watch our backs between election day and inauguration day.

“I Think the Children Are Trying to Kill Us!”

In the past, I have written so many off the wall tongue in cheek pieces that I am afraid this one won't be taken seriously, but I am serious as a heart attack! I think my children are trying to kill me!

Last weekend, we were having a nice family dinner--you know huddled around the t.v., when the reporter began talking about how in 2010 there is no "death tax", but it will revert to 55% on January 1, 2011 if Congress does not intervene. I am sure that if humans are capable of pricking up their ears that both of my children did so! I could have sworn I saw a light bulb come on over both of their heads.

Later that weekend, I walked into the kitchen where they were both huddled together over the computer. Trying not to act like I was suspicious of anything, I said brightly, "Oh, doing some shopping?"

"Yes," they answered in unison, which is odd because they have never done anything in unison ever before.

"It's a surprise!" Brooke said, and Bret agreed.

Later I tried to check the search history on the computer, but being way more computer savvy than I am they had deleted it of course. Sure they had visited some sights like Cabelas and JCPenney, but they had effectively wiped out all trace of any web businesses where they could have ordered untraceable poisonous substances, hired a hitman, or researched tips on how to stage a fatal car accident. I was now more convinced than ever that we needed to be watching our backs.

A couple weeks ago, I ran a Thanksgiving column about how thankful I was that in my golden years I could look forward to terrorizing my kids by forcing them to take care of me instead of putting me in a home as a condition of receiving any inheritance. I am afraid that probably started the wheels turning, and they began to put two and two together and come up with a plan for our demise before December 31, 2010 to save themselves a lot of grief and inheritance tax money.

Brooke's favorite show is "Unsolved Mysteries." I think she has probably watched every episode, so I am sure she has many cunning ideas about how to commit the perfect murder. Bret is a deadly shot with a rifle, and he has spent all of his disposable income since the age of 12 at The Fort on guns and ammunition. It is just not a good combination for a good night's sleep at all!

After several nights of trying to sleep with one eye open, I tried to talk to Remi about my concerns, but he laughed it off and asked me if I had been smoking crack or if my paranoia was truly holiday eggnog induced. But that was before the fireplace incident, and now I think he is starting to watch himself. You see, last week while we were at the Musselshell Ranch gathering cows, Bret had started a fire in the fireplace when we got to the cabin at dark. Bret and the rest of the crew had gone to town ostensibly to get pizza. Since we don't have satellite television there, we fell asleep watching the movie, You've Got Mail, for the hundredth time. When we awoke, the cabin was full of smoke. There was only one conclusion--Bret had tried to kill us in our sleep by smoke inhalation. What genius! Of course, he knew we would fall asleep watching the movie like all old people do when they find a recliner. He tried to cover up the attempt by bringing us a pizza, but that was all part of the diabolical scheme that he and his sister had undoubtedly formulated. I was a little afraid to try the pizza, but he must not have had an opportunity to order any arsenic on line, because we suffered no ill effects from it.

However, I am not taking any chances. I won't ever ride in the same car with Remi anymore--at least until New Year's Day. I have our dogs, Mitzi and Marvin, both sample my food even if I prepared it myself. I am on a first name basis with my e-friends Denny, Max, and Jon, our Congressional delegation. I think their staffers believe I am a certified paranoid nutzoid, but I maintain that addressing the "death tax" in Congress is a matter of life and death! Going public with my fears is my last desperate hope. If we die before New Year's Eve, it was no accident! Oh by the way, if anything should happen to my in-laws this month, it will be purely coincidental!

As a side note, the week after this column ran back in 2010, I drove up to my office on Monday morning in my car which had been in a fairly major fender bender over the weekend. It wasn't even my fault for once, but the damage was quite significant. Two of my county colleagues, Carol Aure and Tana Parisi, met me at the door and said, "What happened? Are your children STILL trying to kill you even after that last column?" I assured them that even though one of my kids did damage my car, I was not a passenger at the time, so it likely was not an inheritance attempt.

My featured cook this week is Suzanne (Suze) Bohleen, who lives up the Shields Valley. A few years back, Suze gifted me a great cookbook which features the following recipes. Suze and her late husband, Calvin Bohleen, were known as a dynamic duo in cattle buying. Jackie Shiplet wrote in the cookbook forward dedicated to the late Calvin that "Cal never took a job Suze couldn't handle." Suze is a lovely person, and I am so humbled that she went out of her way to gift me a wonderful cookbook entitled "A Century on the Shields." Thanks, Suzanne Bohleen!

California Barbecued Tri-Tip Beef:

(submitted by Suzanne Bohleen)

Marinade:

1 1/2 C. beef broth

2/3 C. lime juice

1/2 C. olive oil

1/2 C. ground cumin

3 T. colander

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 lb. beef Tri-tips or top round cut at least 2 inches thick

Remove all fat and connective tissues from meat. Prepare marinade. Cover meat with 1 3/4 C. marinade in a glass (not metal) baking dish. Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours but no longer than 24 hours. Remove meat from marinade, and reserve marinade. Barbecue over medium hot coals about 35 minutes for rare or to desired doneness. To serve, cut the meat across the grain into thin slices. Leftover meat is great on salad. Marinade can be frozen and used over and over.

Alice's Egg Bake:

(Submitted by Alice Sarrazin)

6 slices bread

1/2 lb. Cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 lb. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

1 lb. sausage, browned or 1 lb. bacon, fried, or 1 lb. ham, cooked

6 eggs

3 C. milk

1/2 can evaporated milk

1 can mushroom soup

Lay 6 slices of bread, crusts removed into the bottom of 9 X 13 pan. Top with cheese. Add meat of your choice. Beat 6 eggs, 3 C. milk, and 1/2 t. salt. Pour over the first three ingredients and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, mix 1 can mushroom soup mixed with 1/2 can evaporated milk and pour over top before baking at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours or at 350 degrees for 1 hour.