There IS no cliff

"Pentagon officials and military contractors said that billions of dollars in automatic spending reductions [from the fiscal cliff] would be delayed for weeks, if not months, as they figured out where they needed to cut and by how much. Defense Department hiring would be stopped temporarily,
officials said. But no one would be fired immediately, and no programs would end." [NYT]

That's not a cliff.  That's a gentle slope toward reducing military spending.  If this be cliff, bring me more of it!

Lagniappe:  What in the world is going to happen to the estate tax?  Are people gonna push Momma off the train?  "Sorry, Mom, but if you live another week it's going to cost 35%."  "No need to push, son, I'll JUMP for that kind of money!  Buh-BYE!"

After the Zombie Apocalypse: Estate Tax Implications

While members of our do-nothing Congress bicker, we are faced with a real problem:  What are the estate tax implications of the zombie apocalypse?

I mean, are they dead, or undead?  Do lost body parts count as "partially included assets," or something else?  And how do you figure the unified credit if I blow up my zombie uncle's head, and then get the gold teeth?  Are those heritable, or are they gifts?  The IRS has no answers.  And you can't very well ask your accountant, if he looks like this:

But Professor Chodorow has answers.

With thanks to the LMM, who doens't really like zombies very much.