Liberals and Taxes

The problem presented by the various tax difficulties experienced by numerous Obama appointees is not that they couldn’t afford to pay their taxes – each of them was very wealthy and more than capable of paying the taxes they should have paid – but that they attempted to evade taxes they rightfully owed.

Many folks – especially small business owners – occasionally find themselves in financial difficulties and, as a result, find themselves in hock to the IRS or state authorities. That’s understandable. Faced with the choice between paying Uncle Sam or Uncle Jon, and attending to the needs of one’s family, the latter, clearly, come first.

But Tom Daschle made millions over the course of the past two years. Timothy Geithner, presumably, hauled in a fair salary during his employment with the IMF and could not have been so stupid as to fail to understand his tax obligation. (Curiously, media reports indicate he used TurboTax to file his returns). Nancy Killefer failed to pay taxes due on account of her employing a housekeeper which, presumably, most middle class folks cannot afford. (Having served in the Clinton Administration, it’s simply impossible to believe that she hadn’t heard of Zoe Baird or Kimba Wood. In fairness to her, though, the sum was trivial -- less than $300 -- and involved DC unemployment taxes, probably something relatively easy to overlook. Absent information to the contrary, she apparently paid the social security taxes on her employees and made an honest mistake, something that cannot be said of her male counterparts.)

In the case of the two men, a relatively – or outright – rich guy – presumably, a liberal who believes in high taxes – deliberately failed to declare income. This is not merely taking a problematic deduction, or making a late payment of taxes one acknowledges one owes. But for their subsequent appointment to governmental office, it’s clear that these men were outright tax cheats who had no intention whatsoever of paying taxes they owed.

One can easily draw a distinction between an understandable late payment and a deliberate attempt to stiff the government, between an inability to pay and an unwillingness to pay. In each of these cases, liberals attempted to beat the government out of the sums they owed. A conservative who attempted to so anything of the sort would be drawn and quartered.

Recall Bob Torricelli’s memorable lament: "when did we become such an unforgiving people"? It’s not that the people won’t forgive, it’s a question of the offense. If Daschle were a struggling businessman who owed back taxes, the people might understand. (Well, not the left, if said person were a Republican and there was political advantage to be had) But the people tend to be less understanding when a rich liberal, acting like Leona Helmsley, blithely refuses to pay taxes while advocating higher taxes on everyone else.