Day: May 15, 2013

The Case for the IRS Targeting the Tea Party

Trish

It seemed to come as a great shock when it was recently revealed that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) examines some taxpayers more closely than others.

Really? Because no one has ever objected to the IRS targeting some tax returns for audit. Among them:

  • Millionaires (in fiscal 2011, the IRS audited 12.5% of them)
  • People reporting more than $200,000 in income
  • People claiming confusing tax breaks like the first-time homebuyer credit
  • Home office workers
  • Small business and self-employed people generally
  • Very low income filers who claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
I’m not saying the IRS should target according to ideology. I’m saying it should target according to likelihood that tax laws are being flouted and circumvented.

So why, in the wild west of the first election years since the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling allowing political action groups, many with questionable funding, to mushroom and proliferate…why should anyone be surprised the IRS would exercise scrutiny on these here today, gone tomorrow groups? Why, in fact, would they not demand that the IRS do precisely that before granting tax-exempt status to whoever applies for it?

And why not specifically take a hard, cold look at tea party groups?

[…]

House Republicans Have Spent 15 Percent of Their Days Since 2011 Trying to Repeal Obamacare

Buck Banks

43

Number of days since Republicans took over the House that they have devoted time to voting on repeal of President Obama’s signature health care overhaul. Thursday’s 37th vote to repeal means they have held votes on only 281 days since taking power in January 2011, and Republicans have spent no less than 15 percent of their time on the House floor on repeal in some way.

Krauthammer Tells Republicans to Dial it Back

Buck Banks

But the one advice I give to Republicans is stop calling it a huge scandal. Stop saying it’s a Watergate. Stop saying it’s Iran Contra. Let the facts speak for themselves. Have a special committee, a select committee. The facts will speak for themselves. Pile them on but don’t exaggerate, don’t run ads about Hillary. It feeds the narrative for the other side that it’s only a political event. It’s not. Just be quiet and present the facts.

— Charles Krauthammer, appearing on “Real Clear Politics” video.

South Breaks Stereotypes…Or Not

Trish

10 of 20

Number of places on the Amazon “Most Well-Read Cities” list that are in the South, including number one, Alexandria, Va.; number two, Knoxville, Tenn.; number three, Miami; and number five, Orlando. The ranking is based on book, Kindle, and magazine sales, and Knoxville might not make next year’s list. It ranked high this year because of the massive quantity of copies of Fifty Shades of Gray its residents bought.