Let Him Have It
It is especially important for those of us who support Barack Obama to strongly criticize him when he screws up. He must know that it is not just the conservatives who will voice their disapproval, but also the very people he depends on to do his job and keep him in office.
When he nominates several people for important administration positions that seem to have serious ethical or competence problems in paying their own taxes, it means that he is not doing what he said he would. Yes, the country has many serious problems that need serious, immediate attention. But that doesn't mean that you should appoint just any old person to fill that job. With 350 million people in this country, there must be at least one for each of these positions that is knowledgeable, creative, capable, energetic, competent, and ethical. Plus, I'm guessing that most of us do a reasonable job at paying our taxes.
So, Mr. President, please consider this our version of tough love. We speak our minds not just when Republicans make mistakes, but when any elected official makes mistakes. We realize that you are under lots of pressure and still learning on the job, but I hope we elected a fast learner.
Remember, this hurts us much more than it hurts you!
When he nominates several people for important administration positions that seem to have serious ethical or competence problems in paying their own taxes, it means that he is not doing what he said he would. Yes, the country has many serious problems that need serious, immediate attention. But that doesn't mean that you should appoint just any old person to fill that job. With 350 million people in this country, there must be at least one for each of these positions that is knowledgeable, creative, capable, energetic, competent, and ethical. Plus, I'm guessing that most of us do a reasonable job at paying our taxes.
So, Mr. President, please consider this our version of tough love. We speak our minds not just when Republicans make mistakes, but when any elected official makes mistakes. We realize that you are under lots of pressure and still learning on the job, but I hope we elected a fast learner.
Remember, this hurts us much more than it hurts you!
posted by insomniac | 11:04 PM
1 Comments:
From the few details that are emerging, it sounds like Geithner might actually be the one who was knowingly violating the tax code. Daschle was less egregious and I think he probably would have gotten away with paying taxes and penalties if there hadn't already been all this outrage over Geithner. Nancy Killefer didn't even try, even though her dispute is the smallest: $900 over paying employment taxes for household help.
I tend to think that this should be a wakeup to those in government, in that maybe, just maybe, it's a sign that the tax code is entirely too complex. I have no idea what cicrumstances would put me on the hook for paying employment taxes for household help. If I hire someone to come in and do cleaning every other week, am I responsible for paying their employment taxes? Here's another one: if I have a yard sale, am I responsible for filing state sales tax? 90% of Americans may think it's not OK to cheat on their taxes, but I can practically guarantee that 90% of Americans knowingly or unknowingly underreport income.
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