UNONS WATCH AS IRS REPORTS UNPAID ANNUAL TAXES RISE TO $458 BILLION
The title of this posts comes from a simple but powerful New York Times story that recently explained why the federal government is understaffed, its employees often underpaid, its work largely undone, and its reputation less than stellar. The money that law says should be paid into the US Treasury is not being deposited thanks for a very healthy dose of tax cheats living among us. (This figure does not even include all the companies doing business in the US who rent lofts or just mailboxes in off-shore tax havens to “legitimately” avoid paying what they would owe if they operated as US companies.) If even half this was collected each year there would be far, far fewer worries about Medicare shortfalls, the cost of universal health insurance, crumbling bridges, unsafe drinking water, and zika-like plagues. On the other hand, the tax cheats would be very unhappy, and cut their political contributions to Congressional front men drastically. If an ISIS-connected syndicate was stealing this money from Americans each year, ships would be launched, drones fired up, and boots put all over the ground. But thanks to a few Congressional hitmen who almost daily blame the underfunded IRS for this, Americans move along unaware that this theft cheats every man, woman and child out of about $1,500 a year in federal benefits. So, what can unions do about this? Continue reading