Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2017/12/18/david-horowitz-freedom-center.html
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Inspired, no doubt, by the success of the Cult of $cientology in that regard. Scammers always learn from each-other.
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Working as intended?
Working exactly as intended.
P.s., I’ve never really understood - and I am assuming good faith here - the punitive instinct to reduce funding on underperforming but necessary functions of government. If we accept that IRS is a necessary function and we know that IRS isn’t performing as intended then what is the causal mechanism by which they’ll getter better at their role with less funding? It’s also one (of many) the issues I have with performance pay for teachers - great teachers are great no doubt about it, but every child needs a teacher. Shovelling more of the pie towards a few teachers inevitably underfunds the remainder, and the remainder are the ones who teach the bulk of the kids. (And, incidentally, yes; I’m not a fan of starving the funding of poorly performing police units. Aggressively root out all the bad apples and publicly crucify them, but for better or worse the police do fulfil a necessary function. Underfunding a racist, abusive, corrupt police department is not going to make them see the error of their ways.)
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It’s easy to rile up the right. Heck Pizza Gate is a perfect example.
I work for a government agency that audits things. We have in the last couple years got a lot of IRS refugees over in our agency. The stories they tell about understaffing, and funding cuts are frightening.
I looked at applying, but they keep shredding the agency, and even when they do hire, it’s provisional for a short period. It’s hard to get in because of all the cuts. No job stability there.
Why bother changing tax codes, when you can just defund the agency in charge of regulation and enforcement. This is exactly what some folks would like to happen.
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Too bad to hear. I’m for a low-tax environment, but I also want one where there are rules and enforcement. I ought not be disadvantaged in the market because I am – by nature – a rule follower. More than that, all of my dealings with the IRS have been quite cordial and competent. I got a few thousand behind on taxes during the crash and they were honestly delightful to work with: they insisted that they wanted their money, but as long as I kept them informed of my plan to pay back (which changed from time to time) and met the payments they were expecting, they were great to work with.
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Perhaps the IRS should start “approving” and putting these organizations on a (NSA) watchlist for “random” audits, and punish the miscreants that barely step outside the bounds of a 501c3, using Trump’s version of “extreme vetting.”
The costs of these additional oversight and enforcement actions can be funded through the additional fines, interest, and other penalties collected. In addition, guilty members are barred from working/“volunteering” for a 501c3 organization, violation of this “parole” would result in an all-expenses-paid trip to club fed.
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Your problem is the assumption of good faith. Underfunding is a way for conservatives to “prove” that government doesn’t work and to ensure that certain agencies underdeliver for non-priority people (anyone who’s applied for U.S. citizenship will know how that goes).
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Aye. That’s such a self-defeating - and utterly dishonest - approach.
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And that’s just Republican business as usual. Il Douche has taken it to a new level by appointing agency heads who are completely ignorant of or outright hostile to their agencies’ stated missions.
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It is also just the sadistic nature of the right. Punishment is always an attractive course of action when out-groups are to be punished. The IRS is a designated out-group, like poor people, teachers, anyone who’s skin isn’t white enough. It isn’t just that they think punishment will work on the out-groups, but they derive pleasure just from imagining their suffering. On the other hand in-groups must always be rewarded, how lovely would it be to be a rich person getting a huge tax cut.
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Thank you Papasan…Cicero got it nailed. I’ve emailed this to a ton of folks…not just choir members
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I love a good choir.
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More fuckery that has to be fixed once Trump is gone.
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