Another Democrat with "Some Tax Issues"

[rushmc 23]

Did you miss (on page one) where the summary states "The overall compliance rate achieved under the United States Revenue system is quite high"?

No, I dont suppose you did.

Understandable though....

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[idrankwhat 0]

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You points are all valid and good. what bugs the hell out of me is the different way they are being reported on and treated. If there were Bush nominations do you think we would be getting the "oh but, he is the most qualified" bull shit?

I will let you answer that one..

I'm still in the "give him the benefit of the doubt" stage with Obama. So far he's come out swinging as the "Anti_Bush" in pretty much every department. That bodes well for this country. He's pledged to run a transparent government and he's setting up a system that will enable us to see what our tax dollars are actually being spent on. The fact that a couple of appointees have had some tax issues, which were taken care of with interest, doesn't detract much from what I see as a good start to his Presidency. I'd love to see this trend towards transparency and accountability proceed. It beats the heck out of the "opaque Executive" reign of #43.

[Andy9o8 2]

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the larger issue to me is that the left will continue to defend the messiah no matter what he does, and they continue to lose credibility.

Really? With whom? The ultimate poll is at the ballot box. If they keep winning elections, handily, their credibility with the FoxNews crowd and right-wing blogosphere will not rank terribly high on order of importance. And in the meantime, if their public approval ratings are high, the Democratic majority in Congress will stay in line, right-wing opinion notwithstanding.

[TankBuster 0]

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Really? With whom?

With anyone who honestly compares what he says he'll do with what he actually does. No lobbyists? No worries, we can make exceptions. Responsible, transparent government? No worries, more exceptions.

The forecast is mostly sunny with occasional beer.

[Capt.Slog 0]

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Did you miss (on page one) where the summary states "The overall compliance rate achieved under the United States Revenue system is quite high"?

No, I dont suppose you did.

Understandable though....

Yes, it is understandable because there are more low income taxpayers than high income ones.

Apparently 20% of $500k - $1M income earners cheat.

[Capt.Slog 0]

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[


Maybe you missed this bit:

and Andrew Johns, an IRS researcher.

You might also look at Fig 7 in the following IRS publication:

www.irs.gov/pub/irs-news/tax_gap_report_final_080207_linked.pdf

which shows that some 70% of the underpaid tax is from the self-employed and small business owners - those pillars of Republican society.

Hey cool!!! You will repost when you want and you go all snarky when you dont want to.

Nnnnnnniiiiiiiiiccccccceeeeee

I guess you didn't read that one either, because it was NOT the same one and was not a repost.

[rushmc 23]

Dodd Says He Will Refinance VIP Mortgages
Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd says he sought no special treatment from Countrywide, but will refinance mortgages he received through a VIP program.


Monday, February 02, 2009


HARTFORD, Conn. -- Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd said Monday he'll refinance two mortgages he received through a VIP program from Countrywide Financial Corp., which is accused of giving favorable loan terms to some lawmakers.

Meeting with reporters in his office in Hartford, Dodd said he sought no special treatment from Countrywide when he refinanced his Washington and East Haddam, Conn., homes in 2003. He said he would make mortgage documents available for review Monday afternoon.

"I just wanted to put this behind us," said Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.

He said he's switching the loans to a new bank because he was wrongfully labeled a friend of Countrywide's former CEO, Angelo Mozilo. A third party will be involved in choosing the bank, he said.

"Let me be very clear. We are not friends of Angelo Mozilo and we have never been a friend of his," said Dodd, who was accompanied by his wife, Jackie, at the news conference. "The first we ever heard of the 'friends of Angelo' list was through press reports last summer."

Dodd has acknowledged participating in a VIP program at Countrywide, which was sold to Bank of America Corp. last year and has been the focus of allegations that it gave favorable loan terms to lawmakers. Dodd said he thought the VIP status referred to upgraded customer service.

He received a 4.25 percent interest rate for his Washington town house, and a 4.5 percent rate on the loan on his East Haddam home.

The Senate Banking Committee has oversight over the mortgage and banking industries. Dodd also played a key role in crafting the $700 billion Wall Street rescue plan, which allows the government to spend billions of dollars to buy bad mortgage-related securities and other devalued assets from troubled financial institutions.

Dodd said the Senate is still conducting an ethics inquiry into the mortgages. He has turned over documents and answered written questions, but has not been called to testify, Dodd said.

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[idrankwhat 0]

I need to amend my previous "benefit of the doubt" post. WRT Daschle, the tax issue is not my biggest concern. The more I find out about who he's been working for the more I think that maybe there's a better choice.
On the other hand, I have no idea where Obama's going to find people with experience in government but without ties to industry or their lobbyists.

[idrankwhat 0]

Nevermind

[Andy9o8 2]

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Nevermind

I'm glad Daschle has withdrawn the nomination. The GOP criticism was valid, IMO.

[Capt.Slog 0]

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Nevermind

I'm glad Daschle has withdrawn the nomination. The GOP criticism was valid, IMO.

Yes indeed.

[kelpdiver 2]

It seemed more valid for SecTreas. If the nominations had been reversed, it's likely Daschle would be in, and the other guy out, which would have been better to me.

[wmw999 2,558]

Except that SecTreas seems to be more uniquely qualified from what I've read. Also, a $15,000 mistake is different from a $100,000 mistake. It's still a whole lot of money, but it's from a single source (i.e. the employer's part of the tax that he was extra-paid for). He did his own taxes, and I've read that the tax program he used wasn't set up for that kind of program.

Not an excuse, a reason. He said the same thing.

But multiple reasons, by someone who most likely doesn't do his own taxes, is worse.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[kelpdiver 2]

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Except that SecTreas seems to be more uniquely qualified from what I've read. Also, a $15,000 mistake is different from a $100,000 mistake

But his unique qualifications also imply that he should know better. He's overseeing the IRS.

I'd be happy to see both gone, but if I had to choose, I'd toss the guy that is in charge of taxes first.

[Andy9o8 2]

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Except that SecTreas seems to be more uniquely qualified from what I've read. Also, a $15,000 mistake is different from a $100,000 mistake

But his unique qualifications also imply that he should know better. He's overseeing the IRS.

I'd be happy to see both gone, but if I had to choose, I'd toss the guy that is in charge of taxes first.

I'd like to see both gone, plus the guy for which the Secy Defense got an exception on the lobbying rule. None of those feel right to me.

[chuckakers 426]

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Except that SecTreas seems to be more uniquely qualified from what I've read. Also, a $15,000 mistake is different from a $100,000 mistake. It's still a whole lot of money, but it's from a single source (i.e. the employer's part of the tax that he was extra-paid for). He did his own taxes, and I've read that the tax program he used wasn't set up for that kind of program.

Not an excuse, a reason. He said the same thing.

But multiple reasons, by someone who most likely doesn't do his own taxes, is worse.

Wendy W.

A couple points on that, Wendy.

First, Mr. Geithner worked for the World Monetary Fund (WMF) during the time he failed to pay his taxes. The WMF was very detailed in its instructions to employees about the fact that taxes were not taken out of their paychecks. In fact, every quarter, the WMF would issue instructions to all employees (along with the appropriate IRS forms), explaining that the employee had to pay taxes out of their own pockets, and even calculated the tax for them!

Additionally, each employee had to submit a form on a quarterly basis, showing how much they actually paid out of their pockets for said taxes, and the WMF would actually reimburse them that amount!! So Mr. Geithner not only failed to pay his taxes after being informed that he was required to do so, he also got reimbursed for taxes he DID NOT PAY!!

So either Mr. Geithner is lying through his teeth, or he is an absolute moron. Either way, is that the guy you want in charge of the IRS???

Geithner, Daschle, Killefer. Change you can believe in.

Chuck Akers
D-10855
Houston, TX

[rushmc 23]

Mr. Geithner is the ONE that should have been rejected if we had to pick one.

Obama is looking rather silly in all of this I think

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[Andy9o8 2]

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Obama is looking rather silly in all of this I think

Stop and think about that for a sec. He's spent his whole life with ears that look like Dumbo's.

[TankBuster 0]

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Stop and think about that for a sec. He's spent his whole life with ears that look like Dumbo's.

Now that's funny.

The forecast is mostly sunny with occasional beer.

[rushmc 23]

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Obama is looking rather silly in all of this I think

Stop and think about that for a sec. He's spent his whole life with ears that look like Dumbo's.

huh?

Oh ya

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[rushmc 23]

But now there is this

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article5655115.ece

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[rushmc 23]

I have felt for a short time that Mr Obama has an air of condescending arrogance. Now, I have not said anything cause until just recently this was my opinion. Now, there comes the news and polls that are indicating I am not alone in this opinion.

His first 100 day is starting out very rough. On the way to a disastrous start? Remains to be seen but things have to change soon not to be a problem for him……

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[billvon 3,087]

>I have felt for a short time that Mr Obama has an air of condescending
>arrogance. Now, I have not said anything cause until just recently this was my
>opinion.

RushMC, Apr 2008: "I agree. The scary part for me (and this is why I call him arrogant and out of touch) is he beleves it."

>Now, there comes the news and polls that are indicating I am not alone in this opinion.

Obama approval rating: 67% (Feb 2)

[kelpdiver 2]

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His first 100 day is starting out very rough. On the way to a disastrous start? Remains to be seen but things have to change soon not to be a problem for him……

Hardly disastrous. Clinton had a lot of problems with his AG nominees. Bush was caught reading to children while NYC buildings burned to the ground. Going back to 1989, I recall Bush's SecDef nominee was grilled over drinking/womanizing. It's the politics of the power transition.

When you nominate dozens of people, you're going to find a few bad ones. And the GOP side is certainly going to make sure any bad dirt does surface.

[lawrocket 3]

I've never felt an air of condenscension from Obama. I've gotten tthe sense that he tells it like it he sees it. I disagree, but I have always gotten the sense that he's a good guy with good ideas and a good degree of underlying idealism upon which to base the decisions.

We saw that in Carter, too. A good guy. One smart dude, too! A nice man and an idealist who failed to ground himself in pragmatism.

Then you had Reagan. A pragmatist whose underlying ideals pushed him that direction. Strong. Effective. And while reviled as a warmonger, the INF treaty came in no small part from his efforts. Pragmatism and idealism.

Clinton? A pragmatist. And did a good job as president because he reacted in a pragmatic and realistic manner to the utter policy failure that was his administration and his friendly congress. The 1994 elections bore that out. And Clinton rebuilt himself within two years.

How will Obama do? I don't know. He set himself up for embarrassment by proclaiming change. It turned out that he had to look to the estalishment for people with knowledge on how to run the government. You don't take a young and bright sprint car racer and give him the task of flying Marine 1 - he's capable of learning it, but it won't help much because he crashed it on his first spin.

My wife is hotter than your wife.