Daschle & Geithner - What's the Difference?

Former Sen. Tom Daschle withdrew his name from consideration for HHS cabinet position yesterday and President Obama admitted he "screwed up" in nominating Daschle. Well, if it was a "screw up" (his own words) to nominate a tax cheat as Secretary of Health and Human Services isn't it a bigger screw up to nominate a tax cheat as Treasury Secretary which has oversight of tax code enforcement?

Call the White House and ask why one is a screw up and the other not.

Do Any of Obama's Appointee's Pay Their Taxes?

As we've noted and complained about Obama's nominee's for Treasury Secretary and Health and Human Services past failures to pay taxes, another Obama nominee had similar problems and we hadn't even heard of her or the position. Nancy Killefer has withdrawn her candidacy to be the first chief performance officer for the federal government because she didn't pay her taxes.

When her selection was announced by President Barack Obama, The Associated Press disclosed that the District of Columbia government had filed a more than $900 tax lien on her home for failure to pay unemployment compensation tax on household help.

It is odd that over $30K in tax fraud didn't disqualify Geithner and over $100K in tax fraud hasn't caused the Daschle nomination to be withdrawn, but under a thousand got this lady kicked to the curb. Was she a sacrificial lamb so the new administration can pretend to have some standards?

Beyond her tax issues, when did we create another job of chief performance officer for the federal government? Here's an idea. Don't make up a new position unless you subtract an old one that's no longer necessary.


UPDATE: Let's not forget Al Franken. While he is not an Obama appointee, he owes the closeness of the Minnesota senate race to Obama's election night coattails.

Franken, who is still fighting incumbent GOP Sen. Norm Coleman for Minnesota’s Senate seat, failed to pay at least $70,000 in taxes to 17 states prior to running for office.

Seems all these Dem's are in favor of higher taxes in order to expand government power. They're just not in favor of personally paying those taxes.

The Geithner Precedent - Already?

Besides being ethically disqualified, another reason many opposed the nomination of noted tax cheat Tim Geithner to serve as Treasury Secretary was because it would set a precedent that ethical shortcomings - specifically tax issues - were no longer disqualifying for cabinet positions. What we didn't realize was the precedent would apply so soon. Another Obama nominee, Tom Daschle failed to pay over $100K in taxes.

Thomas A. Daschle, nominated to be secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, did not pay more than $128,000 in taxes over three years, a revelation that poses a potential obstacle to his Senate confirmation.

The back taxes, along with $12,000 in interest and penalties, involved unreported consulting fees, questionable charitable contributions, and a car and driver provided by a private equity firm run by entrepreneur and longtime Democratic Party donor Leo J. Hindery Jr.

Many have argued in recent years that the tax code is too bloated with loopholes, exceptions, etc. and needs to be scrapped and replaced with either a flat tax or a national sales tax. The resistance to changing the tax code has mostly come from the same clowns who caused the problem - Congress. Why does Congress like the status quo? Because there are basically two reasons to bribe a congressman (or pay for his lunch) 1) how government spends money; and 2) how government confiscates money. Maybe, not likely, but maybe, these high profile cases will open some peoples eyes to what a mess we've created with the current tax system.

Senate Finance Committee Endorses Nomination of Tax Cheat for Treasury Secretary

Disgustingly, the Senate Finance Committee voted 18 to 5 to approve the nomination of noted tax cheat Tim Geithner to serve as the Treasury Secretary. The nomination now goes to the full senate for a final vote.

Here is a list of the 18 senators who determined that cheating on his taxes should not disqualify someone to head the Treasury Department which includes the IRS:
Baucus (D-MT), Rockefeller (D-WV), Conrad (D-ND), Bingaman (D-NM), Kerry (D-MA), Lincoln (D-AR), Wyden (D-OR), Schumer (D-NY), Stabenow (D-MI), Cantwell D-WA), Nelson (D-FL), Menendez (D-NJ), Carper (D-DE), Hatch (R-UT), Snowe (Rino-ME), Ensign (R-NV), Cornyn (R-TX), Crapo (R-ID). If one of them represents your state let them know your opinion of their low ethical standards.

Next Obama Nominee to Fall to the Wayside?

Last week New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson was the first Obama nominee to have to withdraw from consideration due to ethical lapses. Treasury Secretary nominee Tim Geithner should be the next to withdraw. I am not asking for perfection from government employees. However, it isn't asking too much that they understand and follow the rules their department imposes on the rest of the population. Geithner would, if confirmed by the senate, lead the Treasury Department. The Internal Revenue System fall under the purview of Treasury. Geithner has been seriously delinquent in paying his taxes. While Geithner's supporters are defending his criminal actions as "honest mistakes," timing is important in considering whether these were merely honest mistakes. This paragraph says a lot about Geithner's actions:

Three years ago, the IRS audited Geithner for tax years 2003 and 2004, which resulted in him paying back taxes and interest--but no penalties--totaling $16,732.

However, Geithner voluntarily amended his 2001 and 2002 returns only after Obama expressed interest in nominating him to the Treasury post. The total bill this time: $25,970.

In other words, three years ago he was caught underpaying his taxes for two years (2003 and 2004) and had to know the same "mistakes" were made on his earlier returns yet he chose not to pay his arrears until he heard he might be nominated for a job requiring senate confirmation. NEXT!