He evidently doesn't pay his taxes that are due, makes one million dollars a year, and gets a free limo and driver from a client and hedge fund operator (for several years and worth over $200,000) and he thinks we all ought to feel sorry for him. Pleeeease.
We then read further into today's NY Times story that when he joined hiw lobbying/law firm after being defeated for his Senate reelection, he insisted that he was not a lobbyist, but rather was just a "rainmaker". Like there is a difference. His firm was trying to influence public officials on behalf of their clients--nothing wrong or illegal about that. That is in the great American tradition dating back to our first President and Congress. But not good enough for the Senator. I guess he thought he was above it all. He wanted to engage in "good works" (helping students learn and understand government--a good thing to do but not necessarily unique) and also continue to be paid tens of thousands of dollars for speeches on government. He then wants us to believe that in additon he was going to give his services to a lobbying firm (and get paid handsomely for his services) but he was not a lobbyist, but rather a rainmaker and a policy wonk. I guess he thinks his other colleagues in this lobbying firm are not as good as him and/or are not as "ethical" as him.
What rubbish.
His former Senate colleague, Trent Lott, has this to say in the NY Time story:
“Once you come out and you get into whatever you’re going to do, whether it’s a lawyer or a consultant or a lobbyist, you are representing clients who can then be used against you,” said Mr. Lott, who has more openly embraced the lobbying life since retiring from the Senate. “In the minds of the people, it’s a distinction without a difference. You can’t be advising people on how to deal with Congress without, in effect, at least indirectly influencing Congress.”
Trent Lott is correct--it is a distinction without a difference. The American people know better. Not paying your taxes like every other American is wrong. Making believe you are something you are not and thinking you are better than other American citizens is not the American tradition and is just plain arrogant.
America will be served well by not having someone like this in the President's Cabinet. Back to LOBBYING Senator Daschle!
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I couldn't agree more. There are not multiple sets of rules when it comes to paying your taxes. American citizens are expected to pay their taxes and are punished if they do not. While members of the American government seem to think they are above the people who elected them and are not required to pay taxes. Action should be taken against these law breakers. I have to say that I am a little upset with President Obama with regards to this topic. He stressed the importance of “change” from these double standards and the corruption in government. Yet he has managed to select three tax evaders as members of his cabinet and office. Granted two have withdrawn their names, but from my understanding it was not at the request of President Obama, but rather their personal decision. I personally think every member of Congress, the Executive Cabinet, and the White House Staff should have their taxes reviewed and people should be removed if they have not followed the law!
ReplyDeleteIf I do not pay my taxes, I get slapped with fines and penalties or even jail time.
ReplyDeleteIf you do not pay your taxes... asuming you are not a member of the US Congress, you get slapped with fines and penalties or even jail time.
If your senator does not pay their taxes... no big deal, they think they are better than the rest of us anyhow. Do as they say, not as they do.
The audacity of this whole fiasco is absolutely so incredible I don't even know where to begin. I suppose I could start by pointing out that Mr. Daschle and Mr. Geithner are most definately not the sole guilty parties in the US Government. As Katy Morrison pointed out above; The President needs to be more proactive and stick to the promises he made to us during his campaign. If this is the "change" we were promised then no thank you.
What I can't figure out is why;
Do they think they are better than the rest of us and thus exempt from the tax laws that they themselves wrote and passed?
Do they feel that because they are in a position of power that the laws don't apply to them?
Why hasn't the IRS come down hard on them? In Daschle's case, they waived all fees, penalties and back taxes.
Are they trying to hide something else? Something bigger?
Could they just be really, really, stupid?
What Daschle and Geithner have done is convince ordinary citizens that paying taxes routinely and carefully every year is for suckers.
Infamous Chicago mobster Al Capone was never charged with running illicit booze, murder, conspiracy to commit murder, racketeering, gambling, running houses of prostitution, or extortion.
Al Capone was convicted of Federal Income Tax Evasion and sentenced to eleven years in federal prison in addition to paying numerous heavy fines.
Capone did his time just as American tradition says. When is it going to be Daschle's turn?
Senator Daschel has paid the taxes and interest he owed he owed to the Federal government. Problem solved.
ReplyDeleteSenator Daschle did quit his job for a firm that was responsible for lobbying Congress. Senator Daschle was never officially a lobbyist, but an advisor.
Problem?
Senator Daschle walked a line a bit to fine, so as not to have his integrity severely questioned. I think that most Americans may have forgiven Senator Daschle for late payment of taxes.
The real conflict comes from his position employed as a non-lobbyist for a lobbying firm. A job which paid very handsomely.
A simple old saying applies here. "You really can't have your cake, and ride in your limo too!" Senator Daschle.
Daschle is obviously at battle with himself over losing his seat as a minority leader. There had never been a Senate leader in either party ever turned out of office. He made history when that happened. He was a leader for the Democrats in the Senate for 10 years, he had power, prestige, and great influence over the Democratic Party.
ReplyDeleteHe left the Senate earning $158,000 a year, to earn $5 million in the four years since he lost his seat stating that he wanted to have something to leave his children and grandchildren.
He had to have known somewhere along the line that he would be considered again for public service as he endorsed Obama in 2007 even serving as a surrogate during the campaign where Daschle was well known as a Senator.
I think the mixture of power, prestige, and authority has gone to his head, especially now that he is earning a great amount of money along with his wife who is an Aviation lobbyist. Besides not paying 3 years of taxes on the use of a luxury car service, they tried to write off giving money to a wounded Iraq war veteran as a charitable contribution.
Daschle has been trying to cover his tracks by declaring himself as a "rainmaker", yet still has great influence over politicians in the office and hiding under the theme of being a paid consultant.
Daschle gets a great amount of money from health companies. That would seem to me to be a great conflict of interest for the position he was being offered.
United Health is a company paying for his advise and has many issues pending before the Dept. of Health and Human Services. Which is the position he was being offered to lead. They also receive a third of their $81 billion from Medicare and Prescription drug programs.There are also several other clients that have issues before the government. That is quite the "rainmaker". Something smells like special interests here.
I think Mr. Daschle needs to have some cheese with his "whine" and also should be ashamed that he a man of the people for the people considers himself to be above the people. The fact the he recused himself leads me to wonder what more is there to find that he hasn't publicly disclosed. A great majority of the Democratic Party think a great deal of him and would have supported him.
Former Sen. Daschle was and still is in some hot water over this recent tax scandal, and rightfully so. When someone was in a position that former Sen. Leader Daschle was in, it makes you wonder a few things. First, how many of our former and current lawmakers have problems with their taxes? Second, is this something that should be reviewed?
ReplyDeleteWell to be honest, I think in the wake of three different tax scandles in the last few weeks I would have to bet, yes more lawmakers have problems with their taxes, and is this something that should be reviewed? Yes it is, but it would take lots of time and lots of money, both which America doesn’t have.
There will be several state elections in the next two years and my recommendation is that the parties better get it together and pick cadidates that pay their taxes. It would be devistating to the respected parties if some big shot incumbant on either side is found to have not paid some back taxes.
Americans are looking for more transperency in governmental affairs and unfortuneatly for the lawmakers this includes personal financial information. In light of these scandals, I think taxes are something that will become more of an issue than they already are in the years and elections to come.
I think that when you are in the public light, you have to make sure that you do things exactly to the full extent of the law. Why Mr. Daschle did not pay his taxes, was an honest mistake, however, no matter what the reasoning behind his mistake, he must own up to it. With the amount of lobbying he has done in the last few years you would think that he would have made the correct decisions when it came to money. granted he got the wrong advice, but if a general person gets the wrong advice on their taxes, and it costs enough money, they will be charged to the fullest extent of the law, but we are supposed to put our public faith within a "criminal", I think not.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sidebar on this one. Rubbish, he sounds like a normal conman that has a seat in Congress, oh wait it's politics we are talking about, most of these jokers are rubbish. If people could budget their money a little better they would not have to cheat on their taxes.
ReplyDeleteI think that Dachle should be sent to jail. He is in the public eye and making up stupid excuses as to why he hasn't paid taxes in three years. I agree with the above posts that if this was "Joe Citizen" he would have been in jail real fast. This is what upsets me about politics...people who think they are above the law
ReplyDeleteDaschel's actions just represents the disconnect from reality most politicians have. we have to do whatever we can to tie them down and let them know they are public servants, not the rulers of America. their duty is to act out the will of the citizens. how we achieve this is a big and important question.
ReplyDeletei dont know how to get lobbyists out of washington, but we need to put a little more effort into figuring out how. the problem seems to be that this is the exact opposite of self preservation for those criminals in office...
what we can do from the ground up is put more effort into the election process, become more educated voters and keep up with the actions and morals of our representatives.
I don't like lobbyists, and I don't like people who are greedy. So it should come as no surprise that I don't like Mr. Daschel's either. The thing that scares me the most is that Mr. Daschel was a very prominent Democrat. The political party that usually is associated with the "working-man", the party with a conscience. It's obviously very untrue in this case. So just how many more politicians are putting on false facades? Well, at least we know of one who will hopefully stay in the realm of lobbyists, and not in the actual decision making of the political process.
ReplyDelete