eLiberal - ADA's Blog on Politics & Public Policy

Republicans: The Party of the Tax Cheaters?

Recently Mitt Romney’s waffling about whether or not to release his tax returns has been highlighted in the news. Another tax-related item, that has largely escaped attention, is a report released earlier this month by the Internal Revenue Service. IRS figures show that tax cheating robbed the public of about $385 billion during a single year. A closer look shows that the IRS is probably underestimating tax evasion, that tax cheating is most prevalent among the top-income brackets, and that Republicans have been in the forefront of preventing the IRS from enforcing tax laws.

Unemployment: Good News, But a Long Way to Go

The unemployment numbers for December, released on Friday, represented an improvement. The employment situation is getting better, but the economy is not nearly out of trouble yet. The official unemployment rate is still high, at 8.5%. The economy generated a healthy 200,000 new jobs in December. However, if employment were to continue to grow at this rate, it would take until 2019 for unemployment to return to its pre-recession rate.

Holding Subsidized Companies Accountable

With the economy still in the doldrums, most state and local governments continue to face severe budgetary challenges. The need for vital government safety-net programs is growing at the same time when tax revenues are falling. Yet, an estimated $70 billion in state and local taxpayer dollars is given away each year in the form of subsidies for businesses, according to a cautious appraisal by Kenneth P. Thomas at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

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