Am I alone in having the feeling of being in a John Grishom story? Guy intends to buck the system, whatever skeletons in the closet can be scared up (who did his taxes and was he set up?) are about to be revealed. He still won’t give up? Goes home and “suddenly” gets the insight he’d better pull back – where have I seen this before? Was he really so foolish as to leave himself open to something like this or is it just the Republicans up to their old game again?

The “tax problem” is only a tiny piece of the picture. Much more significant, in my view, is the apparently inextinguishable culture of influence peddling. Daschle “consulted” for health care concerns that were to be under his jurisdiction. The administrative agencies are full of personnel who once worked and will again work for the industries they regulate. Only when that intractable problem is confronted head on can there be any hope of changing the corporate grip on government.

i bet people would be surprise how many people cheat on there taxes, it estimated that the government misses 1 billion dollars a day in loss tax revenue, claim a write off with no paper back up, cheating, get free services from a friend or do them yourself and not claim it, cheating,under the table job, cheating loan a friend or family member money without interest and not claiming u did, cheating, but the irs would not really be able to find this or nail u unless they audit u.

but being paid a large sum of money from the health industry does worry me,

on the bright side in any other admin we would have never known this. at least obama can apologize about this and have transparency, where we would have never had in the past

George: your point is a good one but in order to get the experience needed to do some of these jobs it may be that the best pool of candidates are people who may be slightly tinged by being associated with the problem.

I’m not defending Daschle or any of the folks Obama has appointed who have tax problems but I do think we have to be careful in this.

On the other hand, Obama chose Panetta for CIA and the criticism is he’s too green. I happen like and trust Panetta but that may not qualify him to run the CIA.

Richard: Receiving millions in fees from the medical industry hardly rates Daschle as “slightly tinged”. If he’s tinged he’s a tinged industry gigolo. You don’t send a hyena to renovate an occupied hen house.

All along there have been tax cheats on both sides of the aisle caught or not caught. Daschle and others have backed away and if anyone decides to continue to pound them into the ground it will say more about the accusers than the cheaters. I don’t have all the answers but doesn’t it seem strange that ALL the media seems to feel the more nasty they are the more the ratings go up???All I want is the facts, not the drama! Another thing, what’s the harm in capping CEO’s pay at 500,000.00 till this crisis is over??? Give me that amount and I will show any of them how to live on less and save three quarters of that amount. No one onthe face of the earth is worth that much! Disgusting!!!

my view is that the recent headlines invlolving tax irregularities among the washington elite belies a much larger problem of a tax system that has in effect become increasingly regressive over the post-war period and one that has consistently failed to make the most of its ability incentivize economic behavior deemed to be broadly beneficial to the country.

i would like your guests to address specifc shortcoming in the current tax regime and to discuss the nature of policies that would act to bring the regime in line with the broad economic goals of the day.

So, people make mistakes. Perhaps we spend too much time on mistakes and not enough time on successes. Should we measure a person’s value on the mistakes they make or on the knowledge and successes they have acquired during their lifetime.

I’ve read BOTH of Mr. Johnston’s books. They ARE totally “on point” and should required reading for every member of Congress, after which they should be forced to write book reports and come up with solutions for change! We are becoming a feudal nation. Johnston’s books and Obama’s EXPRESSED aims, these early stumbles notwithstanding, give me hope for a reversal of this 35 year anti-American trend.

Isn’t the Republican fixation on taxes as something to be avaoided at all costs part of this mentality? It seems as though paying taxes to strengthen government services has become anthema rather than patriotic.

Government’s job is to take your money and apply it towards something that benefits the greater good.

I think we set the bar too low if all we demand of our government workers is that they, at a minimum, take every step necessary to make sure that their taxes are done properly.

The Obama administration has set itself up as reaching a new standard of ethics as well as an expectation that it is going raise taxes significantly. It risks hypocrisy of the highest order. It’s already ignored the lobbying executive order twice.

Tom- if you’re going to pick bones about a few missed tax revenues (and call that “elitism”)… You should do an episode on our messed up TAX SYSTEM. Take us back to 1913 when we passed the Federal Reserve Act (another episode) AND the 16th Amendment, which enabled the first federal taxes, and they were levied at a whopping ONE percent. How did we get to HALF?? How much higher can they go before people begin to wonder what we’re getting for our money. Will there ever be a tax revolt, or is there one already?!

I don’t understand why the tax issue is being referred to as a Washington issue. These people underpaying taxes is not a Washington phenomenon. I don’t think it’s that these people think they’re better than everybody else, I think we are expecting them to be better than everybody else. How many people of the same socio economic status as these guys are paying the “nanny tax”?

The idea that the leaders in Washington are worse than everybody else is a Republican theme that is used to create mistrust in government. Don’t buy it.

Absolutely correct. The founding fathers, wise men that they were, opposed both excessive poverty and wealth, but most of their writings on these topics have been forgotten. The did not call for equality of income, but they knew the problems that occured when excessive wealth was in the hands of a few. It enabled them to control government in their own interests.

To quote Jefferson:

“I hope [that] we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial by strength and [to] bid defiance to the laws of our country.”

Avoiding taxes is an implicit expression that one believes taxes on high earners are unjustly high. I agree, and only wish Daschle and the other Democrats who don’t pay all their taxes had taken a public stance as such.

By extention, then, does David Cay Johnston feel that it’s time to repeal teacher tenure laws so that taxpayers are no longer forced to pay the “rigged price” inherent in our education system?

Perhaps we are finally coming to the point where we will recognize that governing, leadership, is about service, not privilege. When we do that, we will find there are people who want to lead for the right reasons, not because they can have a limo for years for free, but because they want to see a better world. Yep, I’m an idealist. Perhaps our president is as well.

Let’s also take a tour of the hidden offices, “apartments,” hideaways in the Capitol Building itself for our princes and princesses in Congress.

As for fairness in income, the only way to solve this problem is to put families–ALL families–on a business footing.

By which I mean, Don’t Marry; Incorporate. Raising children, keeping adult body and soul together is a business–the foundational industry of our economy. And all expenses engaged in that business are (guess what) deductible–if “reasonable and necessary,” of course.

All monies that used to be wages will become (state legislation would help) inter-company payments. 1099 transfers. No more “personal income.” Working women and men become CEOs of their own Domestic Domestic Corporation. They contract with other corporations for services. (They’ll need some help in learning to draft contracts; perhaps the SEIU or AARP or the AFL-CIO might help train these new CEOs draft contracts with other corporations.

bw

Well, I have to say I agree with Majawill. Obama is walking a tight line here. What’s fair is fair. Although I am not sure I undersand what you mean by “an expectation that it is going raise taxes significantly.” I don’t remember him promissing higher taxes.

It seems that we are talking about two different things with Geitner and Daschle. Geitner was arrogant and cavalier (in addition to his own admission of being “careless”). I think it’s important to condemn that behavior specifically. Daschle was apparently following an ‘everyone does this’ mentality of so many in Washington around ridiculous earnings and free cars etc. So far the show has been pretty good at critiquing that culture. But the number of people who are arrogant and cavalier about their taxes and wealthy lifestyles way outnumber the entire ‘Washington’ elite.

While we’re at it too, stop focusing on small versus large amounts: steal little, steal big. I am less interested in HOW MUCH money was owed, than what kind of behavior or misbehavior was at the root. If you lie to evade $50 on taxes you are worse than someone who makes a $1000 honest mistake.

I think that we are perhaps finding ourselves realizing that leadership is about service, not privilege. When we reach that point, we will no longer see the greed and selfishness that seems to be so prevalent in the world, not just Washington or Wall Street, but will be governed by people who genuinely care about making a better world. Yes, I’m an idealist. Perhaps our president is as well.

I find some of these stories to be irritating: the stories about CEOs and corporate managers having to grapple with lower salaries which are still in the upper 1% as if it’s a hardship. Also, the idea that offering relatively lower salaries means the most talented will leave is FALSE! There’s also research indicating that folks are not primarily motivated by money (provided basics are covered (housing, etc.)). Nonprofit executives are paid much less, and always have been, and research documents that that is a harder job. These leaders are NOT untalented or less competent.

Nonprofits have been dealing with restrictions that come along with taking government funds for decades. Acting as if this is new strikes me as self-centered — that is, it comes from the perspective that what is normal is what they have experienced. There are many realities. What’s new for some is not new for others — just because something’s new for you doesn’t make it new for everyone. It’s just different for you.

Alex,
He talked about raising taxes on families making more than $200,000 (originally $250K; Biden’s so called patriotism gesture) and now he’s talked about wanting to balance the budget by the end of this term. He won’t be able to do that, and all the spending he’s planning, without raising revenues.

As a school nurse and mother, it is a daily occurence to remind our students and children that just because everyone else is doing it does not make it right. We struggle daily to teach the next generation ethical living. Our leaders and appointees should be the highest examples of such.

Mr. Obama is the first president that I have ever quoted to my children when exhorting them to redouble efforts in school. His speeches have moved me to encourage them to work not only for personal gain but for the success and future of the country and the world.

Please don’t let us down Mr. President. Take the high road ethically in all circumstances. You and your administration teach the next generation as much as the schools do.

I am sending an email to Sen. Kennedy’s office to introduce a bill to ensure all our reps pay their taxes. If it was you or I we would be put in jail.

True. He did say that.

how about term limits? perhaps if elected officials were limited in their time of service it might prevent long, ongoing business relationships developing between themselves and corporate interests. hopefully the end result is that they would do the people’s business…

I’d like to tie this conversation with Tom’s program with Robert Reich yesterday. Professor Reich intelligently and persuasively argued that the huge spending bill under Congressional consideration should be targeted to achieve changes in US economic and social policy. Very important indeed when argued in general and theoretical terms; but WHO makes those choices? If they were made by dedicated professionals (with some opportunity for input from the public), then most Americans would probably support (if not necessarily agree with) the choices. However, I am concerned that the task of making choices will be left to members of Congress, who are easily swayed by moneyed special-interest lobbyists – a process that will not be in the best long-term interests of this country. We have already seen examples of this process with the use of the TARP funds: big bank lobbyists successfully achieving loose oversight and control of TARP funds; and auto industry lobbyists successfully achieving use of TARP funds for their industry, notwithstanding the originally intended purpose.

When Daschle lost his Senate seat in 2004 I thought, how could this be?

This $100,000 plus “error”, or “oversight” in a way sums the whole thing up: He simple lost interest in serving others.

Perhaps I’ve missed something in the news, but Mr. Ashbrook keeps talking about Mr. Obama’s ethical problems. I was unaware that he’d been doing anything illegal. Perhaps you could provide examples?

And better examples than the comment that Ms. Killefer owed $100,000 in taxes, please.

One of the callers referred to the background checks he had to go through for his job. Only the resume portion of this was picked up by the commentators. Many of us have to go through background checks, beyond our resumes. Why shouldn’t our public officials and potential public officials automatically have to have an audit (public distribution of results including special interest income, etc)? This would put pressure on the politicos to be more ethical and perhaps revise tax rules to be more understandable and reasonable.

Has anyone ever thought about an idea to give every citizen 18 and over one million dollars? The government will sent out a one-time check for people to use to buy houses, get an education and invest.It sounds completely irresponsible but its a current solution.

It should be no surprised to us that politicians don’t pay their taxes. We’ve had a number of examples here in MA.

When you turn on the lights is when you see the roaches. I wonder what would turn up if there was an thorough, independent, and transparent audit of those who represent the voters as I doubt these would have come forward if the lights had remained off.

It seems to me that a point that has been missed (or I missed it being pointed out) is that the issues that have been coming up about nominees not paying taxes…is evidence that the system is working. These issues are not being swept under the rug and people are having to own up to their past behaviors.

Waivers? I don’t understand that, either. Perhaps consequences have to be built into the waiver process. What will happen to those who have violated tax law and the like in the past?

It’s not like an IRS audit is catching them. They’re being caught because their going through an invasive scrubbing process. Had they not been called to higher duty, nobody would have uncovered their deceit.

I recently stumbled upon something which you may find relevant to this conversation. According to the constitution, the 16th amendment actually grants no new powers to tax (this is the federal income tax we’re talking about). There is no stated law, anywhere in print in any document, that states that Americans are legally compelled to pay an income tax. Furthermore, the idea of the tax itself is not only illegal, it’s unconstitutional, as it places an unapportioned tax on one’s private property (there is a supreme court case that defines income as private property, since no definition of income is present in any of the IRS tax code). To add insult to injury, none of the money collected by this illegal tax actually goes to public works, it goes in full to paying off the interest on money borrowed from the federal reserve. Established in 1913, the Federal Reserve, Inc. is a PRIVATE BANK owned by a number of undisclosed entities which has been given the power to create money out of thin air, this money is then loaned to the American government at interest. That is where the money that we voluntarily pay every year goes, to pay down the interest on money that the fed created; there are dozens and dozens of federal taxes that pay for the actual workings of government, and state taxes that pay for schools and roads, etc.
I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true, a gentleman by the name of Aaron Russo made a documentary about it called “Freedom to Fascism”. While it should be taken with a grain of salt, like all things found on the internet, it still contains a lot of really concrete information as well as some compelling interviews with former IRS personnel, a member of a grand jury in a federal tax case, and other prominent figures.
So the whole point of this, and how it relates to yesterday’s show, is that washing folks know that they aren’t legally obligated to pay an income tax. It’s not until they get audited and brought into the view of the public that they treat it like law. They are not “getting away” with anything, they are not cheating the system, they are just standing up for their rights. They are not, however, letting on to the American public that there is no documentation to support an income tax.

Now seems like a good time to abolish the IRS and replace the income tax with a consumption tax. This initiative is gaining momentum, check out the FairTax!

I find the framing of these stories somewhat annoying. The NYTimes yesterday implied that Obama was somehow implicated in these tax scandals, and that it damaged his new ethics standards. I think that is exactly backwards. Because of the new culture of accountability and transparency ushered in by Obama, these breeches can come to light and be dealt with, either by backtaxing the individuals or leading them to step down from their positions. That sounds to me like an ethics system that’s working well, not one that threatens to ruin the President’s policy.

Greg: the real solution here is to ablolish the federal reserve, return the power to create currency to the government, and give our currency value again by reintroducing the gold standard. The IRS still has a place, just not in the enforcement of an unconstitutional income tax. Taxes currently in place otherwise will be more than sufficient to meet all the needs of the country, once we stop putting billions and billions into the pockets of the elite that run the federal reserve.

Obama’s ethical issue is that he has waived his lobbyist ban three times already and that he can’t find ethical appointees.

PARA-DASCHLE

So what does Tom Daschle, non-lawyer, do
For his D.C. law firm employer?
A hard-working, useful para-legal
Who’s fiddling with briefs in the foyer?

Or, since the firm is a lobbying hive
And he’s never registered as such,
Is Tom Daschle skating on the thinnest of ice
And now para-lobbyist in dutch?

It’s all a “do what I say, not what I do” scenario. The government and judicial systems are corrupt, and religious leaders are worse. Lawmakers are not above the law despite their delusions of grandure.