Bad Behavior Bonuses
Imagine you have a job and the company you work for provides you a credit card for your company travel needs, gives you a generous salary with yearly increases plus bonuses and provides you with what most would consider a generous benefits package.
All you have to do is come in, do your job and abide by the rules.
Instead, you decide to misuse the credit card, take drugs, make violent threats and claim fraudulent unemployment benefits. If lucky, you might be afforded a trip to a professional counselor and put on a performance improvement plan. But, most likely you would be sacked – fired – sent out the door.
That’s how it is in the private sector. Not so in our federal government – the same government that spends your hard earned tax dollars.
In fact, just this week the IRS Inspector General announced that more than $2.8 billion in bonuses was paid to IRS employees with disciplinary problems. Included in that $2.8 billion was $1 million paid to IRS employees who owe back taxes!
Repeat – the IRS paid $1 million of your blood, sweat and tears to IRS employees who skipped out on paying their fair share!
It gets better. At the IRS, you can misuse your travel card, take drugs, make violent threats, claim fraudulent unemployment benefits and fail to pay your federal taxes, and still get a bonus and additional paid time off.
In fact, the Wall Street Journal reported this week that the IRS awarded approximately “11,000 hours of paid time off to nearly 1,200 IRS employees with tax issues or official-conduct violations.” They added, “one employee who was suspended for 10 days in September 2011 received a $1,300 performance award in August 2012, the report said.”
You know ladies and gentleman this truly goes beyond egregious. It is the thumbing of the middle finger to those who toil every day to pay for their outrageous behavior. And every member of Congress who doesn’t immediately stand for the elimination of the IRS and the income tax tacitly gives their approval of this insult on the American taxpayer.
And, standing up on the floor of the House and Senate and boasting that, “I have drafted legislation that will prohibit this kind of behavior” is in a word, a cop-out. The people, especially FairTax® supporters, see through this kind of bravado.
There is only one way to solve this continuing problem. It is the enactment of HR 25/ S 122, the FairTax® Act – the only legislation before Congress that defunds and disbands the IRS in its entirety. The flat tax won’t, a VAT won’t and the much-acclaimed “tax reform” plan heralded by the Ways and Means Chairman won’t either.
Only the FairTax eliminates the IRS. So, when someone tells you, “I am for the elimination of the IRS and the income tax – with a post card tax return” – give them the facts.
And when your elected representative gives you a canned ham response about how outraged they are about what is happening at the IRS and then proceeds to submit new legislation – remind them about the FairTax and move on. Why?
Very simply, this November you will have an opportunity to express your voice in a very meaningful way with those who support the FairTax. And I promise you, millions of people who go to work every day – who abide by the rules, do their job and pay their taxes – will thank you.
