Congressman Jason Chaffetz is clueless
While I may refer to Donald Trump as the Trumperor or the Toupeed one, I've tried to reduce the use of name-calling in my blog. But this is an instance where the label of clueless is very appropriate. Jason Chaffetz is the Utah Republican member of the House who is the chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Thus far in his four terms in the House he has:
Announced he'd lost all respect for the Nobel Peace Prize after it was awarded to President Obama.
Criticized the handling of the attack on the Benghazi Compound in spite of the fact he voted to cut funding for embassy security.
Threatened to put the Mayor of Washington, D.C. in jail if she implemented the legalization of possession of small amounts of pot in the D.C. area.
Claimed a chart he used to criticize the salary of Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards was from the Planned Parenthood annual report. It was in fact data from the anti-abortion group Americans United for Life. The chart used highly questionable data analysis methodology and was described by experts in data analysis as "...an egregious example of using a chart to mislead."
But now he's really gone over the top. He wants the IRS to explain how in the world they've found the money to hire 600 to 700 revenue agents. IRS Commissioner John Koskinen has already explained that the resources to make these hires comes from a high level of attrition and increased efficiency. Given that the Congress has reduced the IRS' annual budget by nearly $1 billion since 2010, it may seem a valid question.
The question is though, why question the IRS doing this, unless you're against making a dent in the estimated $458 billion in taxes that doesn't get paid. As the number of IRS employees has been reduced since 2010, the number of audits has also decreased. Any analysis of how IRS budget cuts increase the "tax gap" shows that spending more on the IRS generates much more in tax revenue than the amount of increased spending involved. But Congressman Chaffetz has decided it is more important to cut IRS funding and attempt to get rid of Commissioner Koskinen than to try to cut the budget deficit. This in spite of the fact he made a point of promising to sleep on a cot in his office to save money when he was first elected to Congress.
In the mode of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, I hereby dub this member of Congress, Clueless Chaffetz.
Thus far in his four terms in the House he has:
Announced he'd lost all respect for the Nobel Peace Prize after it was awarded to President Obama.
Criticized the handling of the attack on the Benghazi Compound in spite of the fact he voted to cut funding for embassy security.
Threatened to put the Mayor of Washington, D.C. in jail if she implemented the legalization of possession of small amounts of pot in the D.C. area.
Claimed a chart he used to criticize the salary of Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards was from the Planned Parenthood annual report. It was in fact data from the anti-abortion group Americans United for Life. The chart used highly questionable data analysis methodology and was described by experts in data analysis as "...an egregious example of using a chart to mislead."
But now he's really gone over the top. He wants the IRS to explain how in the world they've found the money to hire 600 to 700 revenue agents. IRS Commissioner John Koskinen has already explained that the resources to make these hires comes from a high level of attrition and increased efficiency. Given that the Congress has reduced the IRS' annual budget by nearly $1 billion since 2010, it may seem a valid question.
The question is though, why question the IRS doing this, unless you're against making a dent in the estimated $458 billion in taxes that doesn't get paid. As the number of IRS employees has been reduced since 2010, the number of audits has also decreased. Any analysis of how IRS budget cuts increase the "tax gap" shows that spending more on the IRS generates much more in tax revenue than the amount of increased spending involved. But Congressman Chaffetz has decided it is more important to cut IRS funding and attempt to get rid of Commissioner Koskinen than to try to cut the budget deficit. This in spite of the fact he made a point of promising to sleep on a cot in his office to save money when he was first elected to Congress.
In the mode of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, I hereby dub this member of Congress, Clueless Chaffetz.
posted by me at 11:15 AM
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