No shame

Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-Taxevader, has ponied up close to $11,000 in back taxes and has declared that he has "done nothing dishonorable", all the while insinuating that the Republican Party is responsible for his predicament:

"Rangel, the dean of the New York congressional delegation, has faced a string of embarrassing revelations — he didn't pay taxes on rental income for a beach house in the Dominican Republic; he used three rent-stabilized apartments in Harlem, including one for a campaign office; he used his congressional stationery to drum up private donations to a college center named after him." ..."'Last July, the Republican Party declared guerrilla war against Democrats and since then has made every effort to smear me and members of my party,'"

Apparently his political opponents tied him up and forced him to break those multiple legal and ethical rules.

Really, shame on those dastardly people across the aisle for insisting that the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, who sets tax policy in this country, to keep track of his own taxes and successfully navigate the same minefield of laws and regulations that requires most of the peasantry to use professional tax preparation.

Even then, that's no panacea. Any two tax accountants will probably give two differing answers as to the actual amount owed the government, and each would have a chance of being correct. Even the IRS itself is no help, giving out the wrong answers to taxpayers 35% of the time, according to a test by the Treasury Inspector General in 2005. The tax code is so large and full of patronage loopholes that it is rapidly becoming unworkable. And remember, with the IRS, the saying is "you're guilty until proven innocent". Good luck!

Who do we have to thank for this mess? People like Rep. Rangel and his straight-faced assertion that "I've never violated the public trust" and whining about legitimate partisan comments on his personal financial behavior, while simultaneously saying "You got [sic] to be kind to the disabled," about a Vice-Presidential candidate with a Down's Syndrome-afflicted child.

Try those lines on someone else, sir. It's not flying here.