Life, Liberty, Politics and Policy in the Land of Enchantment!
Tax the Politicians: Rep. Sandra Jeff a Case in Point
should tax the money politicians gets as contributions. Thom Cole, ace
investigative reporter for The Albuquerque Journal, exposes her using campaign funds to
buy hundreds of dollars of expensive lunches in Albuquerque. Problem
is, she represents a district on the Navajo reservation, more than a
hundred miles away. But politicians feeding themselves and their
friends with tax-free political contributions is nothing new. Barelas
Coffee Shop may be the biggest recipient of these tax-free funds. Dig
through the finance report of just about any Representative or State
Senator from Albuquerque who has a (D) after their name, and you will
see expenditures for "constituent lunch" followed by "Barelas Coffee
Shop."
Other politicians use political contributions for everyday walking-around-money. They pass it out to pay funeral expenses, give
money to school sports teams, and help people who simply have their
hands out. I remember one politician who used campaign funds to pay
kennel expenses for his dog. It's fun to read these reports,
entertaining even to see the creative uses to which they put money
meant for elections, until you realize we're the ones being played the
fool
You and I have to pay taxes on the money we take in to give us the walking-around-money to buy a bowl of menudo. Politicians use their
contributions to give themselves power, influence, and advance their
personal careers, and often their personal fortunes, as well. Why
should society subsidize their activities by making their income
tax-free? What harm would come if their contributions were subject to
the same gross-receipts taxes as everybody else? None, of course,
unless you're a politician defending your perks.
If we're going to tax food, let's tax the politicians, too. Every penny we raise to balance our budget counts.
For NM Watchdog's ongoing advocacy of taxing politicians, take a look here.
Tags: taxthepoliticians
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Lee Kershner on -
Loaning money at excessive interest rates was traditionally considered immoral. Christians weren't allowed to do it and had to depend upon Jews who in turn could not charge their own fellows exorbitantly. Senators Dodd and Corker have subjected some of the poorest among us to lifelong bondage. Taxing their political contributions would be a good start to try to improve their accountability and predatory behavior.
11:36 am ET 03/10/2010 - UP
I
"Senators in Washington negotiating financial reform have agreed to excuse payday lenders from new regulatory enforcement, sources close to the talks said.
Sens. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and Bob Corker, R-Tenn., have agreed that new consumer protection agency could write rules for payday lenders, who often charge 400 percent on an annualized basis, but would not have authority to enforce those rules unless it petitioned other regulators, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
The exemption for payday lenders, often considered the most predatory of lending institutions, was made at Corker's request. Dodd and Corker have been hammering out details of a large financial reform bill that is expected to be completed within a week.
The Times said Corker has received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from payday lenders. As a group, payday lenders tripled their spending on lobbying between 2005 and 2008 to $2.1 million.
Corker said campaign contributions, "categorically, absolutely" did not influence his position on the issue.
"Our goal in this legislation should be to level the playing field so that the same rules apply to all involved in lending," Corker said in a statement."
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Permalink Reply by Mike Blessing on -
Senators Dodd and Corker have subjected some of the poorest among us to lifelong bondage.
That statement isn't true because of the article pasted above (source citation?), but because of Dodd's and Corker's support for the 2008 bailouts, 2009 "stimulus plan," etc.
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