Cats and Dogs, and "Sensible" Bequests-Becker

Leona Helmsley's bequests of $12 million to her dog, and several billion dollars to the welfare of dogs in general, are highly unusual, eccentric, and strange. Should these and similar bequests be allowed? No doubt $12 million is far more than can be spent on a single dog in any reasonable way, but is that the right criterion to use? An analogy with huge bequests to individuals is appropriate. The number of billionaires in the world has been growing rapidly rapidly, and a large fraction of these are in the United States. Most of them will leave hundreds of millions, and even billions, of dollars to their spouses, children, and grandchildren. Some of these recipients may recklessly go through these huge bequests in a short time, but is there any sensible way heirs can spend billions, or even hundreds of million, of dollars in their lifetimes? It is difficult for the rest of us to imagine how to spend that much, even with purchases of private planes, several expensive homes, and other luxuries. Spend these sums they may, but not in ways that would generally be considered useful or sensible. Similarly, I have no doubt that it is possible to spend $12 million on Helmsley's dog, but that would involve expenditures that most would consider at least as foolish and wasteful as the way some very wealthy heirs spend their much larger inheritances. This type of reasoning would explain why the Uniform Trust Act authorizes judges to reduce bequests to pets to a so-called maximum comfort level. Yet, with a couple of exceptions, I do not believe that trustees or anyone else should have the power to decide whether the nature and amounts of bequests for particular purposes are excessive and inappropriate. Respecting individual preferences, no matter how idiosyncratic, is one important measure of a free society, even when those tastes relate to bequests and inheritances. As Posner said, peoples' tastes take many forms, and it is not possible to prove objectively that some preferences, such as the huge bequest to Helmsley's dog, are much worse than even larger bequests to worthless children? One traditional exception to the principle of accepting bequests relates to those bequests made by persons judged to be incompetent, either because of demonstrated senility or mental illness. Such an exception, when used sparingly to avoid abuses, can be useful since bequests made by mentally incompetent individuals may well have no rational basis, not even eccentric ones. Another exception to the rule of allowing bequests, no matter how strange or eccentric, would concern bequests that violate laws. For example, a bequest to give guns to individuals would be disallowed if there were stringent gun ownership laws. Similarly, a bequest to promote white supremacy, or the employment only of males, would be judged to violate anti-discrimination laws. Respect for individual preferences does allow bequests to be taxed. To reduce the importance of bequests that make little sense, Posner proposes to tax large bequests given to charitable organizations. Yet it is not bequests that raise questions about appropriateness, but inheritances. A large bequest divided among many recipients, including many individuals and charities, does not raise anywhere near the same ethical or other problems as the same large bequest given to a few children or charitable organizations. The United States' estate tax and that of many other countries is wrong-headed because they tax bequests rather than inheritances. The case for making charitable organizations exempt from estate, inheritance, and other taxes that apply to individuals and for-profit businesses is that these charities decentralize giving to hospitals, universities, the poor, and for many other purposes that are not readily made self-financing. Absent private charities, the financial support of these purposes would be concentrated, that is monopolized, in the hands of governments, as it is in countries that do not exempt foundations and charities from estate and other taxes. The major concern about private charities and foundations is not that they are too large, but that their leaders often perpetuate their organizations beyond any reasonable duration, partly by transforming their goals over time. I believe a case can be made for keeping the tax exemption in place, but changing present laws to require charities and foundations to have limited durations, perhaps 30 years. That is, to introduce a kind of sunset provision for private charities and foundations. If they stayed in business beyond that time period, they would then be subject to significant wealth and income taxes.

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