Tripped up by taxes. Not good if you're the Treasury nominee

The U.S. Tax Code is so bizarrely complicated that even Obama's nominee for Treasury Secretary can't figure it out.

Or maybe he did figure it out, and just decided to willfully ignore paying his fair share, just like all the rest of us peasants are forced to do on pain of imprisonment:

"Timothy Geithner, whose nomination as Treasury secretary has been delayed by his past failure to pay taxes, was repeatedly advised in writing by the International Monetary Fund that he would be responsible for any Social Security and Medicare taxes he owed on income he earned at the IMF between 2001 and 2004."

$34,000 worth, according to the article. Certainly not nickel and dime amounts. He wasn't too eager to settle up, either, until he realized it might be a sticking point for his new position:

"Only after Mr. Obama picked him for Treasury secretary last fall did Mr. Geithner pay the Social Security and Medicare tax he owed for 2001 and 2002."

When you or I are guilty of the same oversight, even if it's for far less money, it's called tax fraud and we're prosecuted with the zeal of Inspector Javert. In this individual's case, it's merely an "error" that apparently shouldn't disqualify him politically from overseeing the country's money supply.

"'These are not the times to think in small political terms,' said Sen. Lindsay Graham, a South Carolina Republican. 'He has a great résumé.'"

Oh, I'm sorry. We're supposed to be seeing the big picture here, I guess. You're right, Senator, why would we expect the nominee to be able to handle his personal finances correctly? That's clearly asking too much of the poor man.

When the tax system is such that even the people who run it can't get their numbers correct, I would submit that it's time for a change in policy. Radio host Neal Boortz and Congressman John Linder have an elegantly simple solution in the Fair Tax proposal, which is why it probably won't ever be adopted. Not enough loopholes for the connected, you know.