God knows I try to find something nice to say about President Bush every day. And God knows I mostly fail.
But not today. His (not God’s, Bush’s) Internal Revenue Service is finally starting to crack down on all those economic flat-earthers who have refused for years to withhold taxes from their employees’ paychecks on grounds that the income tax is unconstitutional.
Certainly this is far from the biggest collection problem the IRS has, but at least it’s one of them. And it’s one that Clinton ignored in his typically cowardly way. Nor did Clinton lift a finger to defend the IRS when Senator Roth, Republican of Dupont, held those notorious hearings in which a parade of rich folks whined piteously about the agency’s cruel and unusual collection practices.
Once the headlines had died down, it turned out that just about all of their testimony was grossly exaggerated, and much of it was outright lies. But the IRS’s agents were satisfactorily cowed, and the agency’s enforcement budget was slashed. Which of course was the point.
Posted by Jerome Doolittle at July 23, 2003 11:50 AM
I agree. It is about time these frauds were dealt with. Where I live, on public access cable, there is a stream of these Moron-Americans usually standing or sitting by an American flag engaging in the rather profitable advocacy of these idiotic positions.
If you are not familiar with the extent of these schemes and scams and their legal status, I refer you to http://www.quatloos.com and its museum of scams and frauds.
And guess what? They are usually Republicans... which is why I once wrote that a Republican is someone who wants you to pay his taxes for him, work for the least amount he can get away with giving you, throw you away when you are old and or sick; and fight his nasty little wars for him.
In return he promises you that he will exhort you to follow values he wishes he were capbable of living up to.
But then I am a mean-spirited sonofabitch.
Posted by: Wayne on July 23, 2003 4:36 PMHolmes said, "Taxes are the price we pay for civilization."
He was right. Now, taxes are being slashed yearly. You do the algebra.
Posted by: on July 23, 2003 6:54 PMGuys, I have seen you screech at the tops of your lungs about the hideous loss of freedoms from the Patriot Acts (98-1 in the Senate). Why, I bet they are refurbishing those old camps where FDR incarcerated Japanese citizens during WW2. And I gather you fear unchecked government power. Well, gee, the IRS had such power back before Roth got the rules changed. The IRS had unlimited power to seize assets from anyone without a hearing. That should scare the hell out of everyone. Unless you like SOME government power to be abused, depending upon whom it is abusing. Please be consistant.
Posted by: Jack M on July 25, 2003 5:17 PM