Liberal Tax Protesting

I'm getting a little tire of these tax/politics postings, aren't you? Hang with me, only a couple more to go, and then we'll move on to other things. I hope.


Victor David Hanson has a point to make about what it means for Daschle and Geithner to pay their taxes only when it's clear they may get caught:

Millions of Americans don't have either Daschle's or Geithner's resources, yet they pay dearly to go to accountants, honestly turn over all their records, and then pay the full amount of taxation in accordance with their understanding of the law, and the advice they receive from professional accountants.

Yet men both much richer and much more informed about the U.S. tax code not only don't do that, but feel no compunction to rectify mistakes unless they cause embarrassment enough to thwart their careers. Two subtexts as well: there must be many more Daschles and Geithners floating around Washington who don't show up on the radar unless they want a top political appointment; and, two, the old liberal creed that taxes are good and patriotic and are avoided by greedy, selfish conservative elites seems shattered by these examples.

Any more of these stories and we will be on very dangerous ground, since the message is a terrible one to the American people: You pay your full amount, but our elites not only do not, but won't unless they get caught.

This is all about as good an argument for a flat tax as one can imagine.

But the flat tax will never happen, as long as the Tax Code it's a source of power for the governing elites. Unfortunately, that means job security for me.