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Updated Feb 8, 2009 - OK, Daschle did withdraw, as did another major
nominee with tax problems. Obama admitted that he "screwed up"
when he asserted that he "absolutely" continued to stand by the Daschle
nomination one day before it was withdrawn, after a NY Times editorial
challenged it. Is this the change we can believe in, or
Chicago-style political expediency?
Forget all the crazy talk of another Camelot led by the best and
brightest. Welcome to Casablanca. "I am shocked, shocked to
find ... " |
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What ever happened to the old saying, "Cheaters never prosper" ?
I guess that doesn't apply to wealthy or politically
influential Democrats these days. |
| First
Timothy Geithner at Treasury, and now
Tom Daschle has quietly paid roughly $140,000 in back taxes and
interest penalty. He just happened to discover his mistake after
several years, when he was appointed to the Cabinet. Not to mention
Charlie Rangel and others. (Where is that promised Rangel ethics
investigation, Speaker Pelosi?) Maybe we're onto something
as a way to pay for all the new Obama spending plans. |
Let's
do the math. How many Democratic tax cheaters would Obama have to
appoint to high positions in order to expose $819 billion?
Hmm. You may need a bigger calculator
for this exercise.$819,000,000,000 divided by an average "accident"
of perhaps $25,000 per serious tax offender.
We'll assume Daschle was an extreme case at roughly $140,000. Of
course, given his prominent former role in the federal government,
that's a bit disappointing, right? Maybe this will raise some
questions?
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| Maybe
that's why the Daschle story came out on Friday afternoon before the
Super Bowl, when perhaps fewer Americans would notice this little
embarrassment. Daschle should follow Bill Richardson's example,
and withdraw his nomination if he has any honor left, but I'm not
holding my breath on that happening. |
All we need is 32,760,000 more federal appointments (plus any honest
ones which slip in) and we'll pay for the new "stimulus" bill !
There are only around
2 million federal employees (and rising), so that's going to take a
few years. In fact, it will take more than two terms in office,
even if all the appointees only serve for one year each. |
| What
ever happened to their old arguments that any new spending had to be "revenue
neutral", matched by cuts? I guess that only applied to
Republican spending proposals, prior to the election. |
What ever happened to Biden's assertion during the campaign that it is
the patriotic duty of all wealthy Americans to pay more taxes as a
matter of "fairness" - even though most do already?
I guess it only applies when you are appointed to prominent positions
which require Senate confirmation. |
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Perhaps, after he left office, Daschle honestly forgot to pay as much
careful attention to taxes once he was only supposed to be paying them,
rather than raising and wasting them at the expense of others. |
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