Since the Reagan administration, Americans have been sold a bill of goods that tells us that inherited money is more valuable than earned money. Republicans would like all inherited money to be completely sheltered from any taxation, while for the most part, Democrats disagree. The compromise has been that only estates valued at a whopping $5.45 million or more ($10.9 million for married couples) are taxed. Anything below that is completely tax free.Now, Hillary Clinton, after prodding from Bernie Sanders and his followers, has revised her estate tax plan and trust me when I say Donald Trump s children won t be happy.Previously, Clinton said she would restore the tax on dead rich folks to its 2009 levels, pushing up the rate from 40 percent to 45 percent, and making it kick in for estates worth at least $3.5 million (today, it only hits those valued at $5.45 million or more). But, no longer. Instead, she s borrowed a page from her formal primary rival, and now proposes turning the levy into a progressive tax meaning it will take a bigger bite out of wealthier estates with a top rate of 65 percent. The last time the estate tax hit that level was in 1982, though back then it also kicked in on smaller inheritances.Beyond all that, Clinton has said she would largely do away with the step-up in basis at death, a rule that allows lucky heirs to avoid paying capital gains taxes that, say, their parents or uncle or other rich benefactor would have owed had they sold their stock before passing away.In the end, the committee expects these measures to raise about $225 billion over ten years.Source: SlateAs it stands, the estate tax system is a joke. In 2012, a staggering $1.2 trillion was passed down as an inheritance. Of that, less than 1 percent was taxed. As for the Republican argument that estate taxes will hurt small businesses, in 2013, only 20 small businesses and family farm estates, in the entire country, had to pay estate taxes.The other common Republican argument is that estate taxes are  double taxation  (as if every other dollar in the American economy hasn t been taxed multiple times), but the reality is that most of what comprises large estates comes from capital gains, which are also unlikely to have every been taxed.Of course, even if Clinton is elected, she ll have a tough time passing this, at least as long as Paul Ryan is in charge of the House. He wants Trump s kids to pay zero in estate taxes. Of course, for all we know, Trump himself pays zero in taxes.Featured image via Mark Wilson/Getty Images.