While debating the future of health care, former Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz made the stunning claim that Americans may have to choose between investing in “that new iPhone” or being able to afford health insurance — and it seems GOP Senator Chuck Grassley took a page out of the ex-lawmaker’s book to justify a death tax repeal.

Amidst defending his support for repealing the estate tax — which is a 40 percent government charge imposed on the estate of a deceased person — Grassley made the claim that people who aren’t investing their money are actually just blowing it all on “booze or women or movies.”

According to the Des Moines Register, Grassley said an estate tax repeal would help “the people that are investing.”

As for the people who are not “investing,” Grassley slammed them for spending “every darn penny” on useless things. “I think not having the estate tax recognizes the people that are investing, as opposed to those that are just spending every darn penny they have, whether it’s on booze or women or movies,” said Grassley.

The 40 percent death tax has been regarded as one of the main issues to reconcile between the two differing tax bills in Congress. On the House side, lawmakers have proposed the tax be totally removed by 2024, while the Senate side wants to keep the death tax with the caveat that up to $11 million be labeled as tax-free — which is twice the number of where the charge currently stands.

As GOP lawmaker-turned-Fox News pundit Chaffetz said, “Americans have choices” — and, in Grassley’s mind, the choice most Americans are making is spending all their cash on prostitutes and Jack Daniels instead of being fiscally responsible investors.

[image via screengrab]

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