Defund the IRS
I’ve never been a fan of the IRS, but after watching the recent congressional hearings I’m convinced the IRS has become too corrupt and too powerful to be allowed to continue. The arrogance of IRS officials demonstrates how little respect they have for Congress. Three of them, in unison, gave the middle finger to Congress by not answering the questions they were asked, by claiming no memory or by taking the Fifth. All three continue to get their cushy salaries and/or retirement pay in spite of showing such disdain.
Could a private citizen survive an IRS audit by claiming “no memory” to their questions? Would an employee in the private sector still be employed after claiming such ignorance of their jobs? Are they more powerful than the very organization that funds them?
It’s time to defund the IRS, implement a fair tax or flat tax system and take away the temptation to use the IRS as a thug to penalize an administration’s enemies and curry favor with its friends. For years, both parties have used the tax code to punish their enemies and reward their friends by inserting favorable tax breaks. That’s the reason the tax code has gone from 400 pages in 1913 to nearly 74,000 pages in 2012. The complexity of the code is also the reason average citizens must rely on the help of a CPA to file their taxes. Send letters to your views@ opubco.com or to Your Views, P.O. Box 25125, Oklahoma City, OK 73125. Word limit is 250. Include a postal address and telephone number. For other guidelines, go to www.news ok.com/voices/ guidelines or call (405) 475-3920.
A WASTE OF MONEY
Had lawmakers worked another week instead of leaving early, and had they balanced the budget considering the needs of all Oklahoma citizens, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections wouldn’t have been ignored by the legislators and the governor. They could have read the 2007 audit done by MGT America, bought and paid for by the Legislature to the tune of $864,000. It explains, in detail, how to fix the agency’s budgetary problems. Had the governor spent a week reading this audit, she would have found the answers for how to make DOC pay raises possible and still save the state money.
Her new compensation study is a waste of taxpayer dollars. It offers further proof that she doesn’t have a clue how hard it is for a correctional officer to make ends meet. It appears that the governor is attempting to make any future DOC pay raises based on “merit.” How much harder can we possibly work? The prison population is maxed out. Staff levels are the lowest in history, with officers retiring, quitting for better-paying jobs or leaving disgusted and demoralized.
With no raises since June 2006 and the furloughs of three years ago further depleting our numbers, we’re trying to protect Oklahoma citizens with one hand tied behind our backs. We’re getting no help from the Legislature. For the governor to imply that those of us still employed by DOC aren’t doing the best job we possibly can do, with the odds stacked against us, shows that she’s out of touch with the reality of our situation.
From my perspective, the only ones not doing their jobs adequately are the legislators and the governor.