Tax Cheats

Regarding “Judgment Day for Tax Cheats,” which appeared in the April 15, 2009 edition of “The Nation,” I have one gnawing question. Why am I not surprised that another so-called “statesman”- in this case retired Senator Phil Gramm, from Texas- is engaged in what in truth can only be described as influence peddling (otherwise known as “working”) for a foreign-owned bank specializing in tax evasion for wealthy Americans. In effect, the United States government for whom he once worked, and from whom he draws his very generous pension, he seeks to undermine by training the wealthy in the art of tax evasion.

This points out once again the all too familiar scenario that regardless of one’s political affiliation, conservative or liberal beliefs, etc, too often the true nature of ones “public service” is to accumulate enough political capital to put it on the auction block to the highest bidder-even if it puts you at odds with the government you purportedly represented for a number of years. Apparently there is no higher calling than to feather one’s own nest, even if the load carried by average working Americans is made heavier. This is a despicable way for Senator Gramm to reward the hard working Texans who returned him to office several times over the years, and a slap in the face to all Americans who pay their fair share of taxes.

This is the true gist of this article, not that wealthy people seek out tax loopholes-legal or illegal-but that a senator that I once respected for his intellect and conservative principles proves to be yet another sell-out for a filthy dollar. We also learned from the article that his wife –like a true “bird of a feather”- is also engaged in similar activity, feathering her nest in like manner. This begs another pertinent question- Does the Texas Department of Criminal Justice have an available cell large enough to accommodate both Senator and Mrs. Gramm?