Thursday, March 08, 2012
Influence Peddling
From the dawn of humanity it has been the norm that a few individuals who have money and power got to have their say on society and government. Many times they were in the seats of power while other times they remained outside the portals of government but controlled the operations. They managed to place the figureheads in the seats of power and functioned behind the scenes to run the government according to their wishes.
It is not any different now. The elected officials in many countries act contrary to the will of the people who elected them despite making promises to look after their interests. They get elected by appealing to the voters but the money that they use as a means to get elected is provided by vested interests. Once they get elected they steer legislation not according to the wishes of the people who elected them but according to the dictates of the lobbyists who contributed financially to their election. Thus the lobbyists become the de facto power. This cycle continues forever. The interdependence of the elected officials and the lobbyists gets stronger as time goes by. If by chance the people defeat an incumbent and elect an outsider the lobbyists go after them and get them into their fold by enticing them with money.
The Congress in the United States is held in very low esteem by the general population (just 10% approval rating!). Despite such low rating the re-election rate of incumbents is very high (more than 60%). Apparently each constituency is made to feel that their congressman is noble. A few congressmen go to jail, a few others manage to resign "honorably" with hefty pensions, and a few others fight all charges of impropriety using their influence among their colleagues (den of thieves). All of them enjoy great privileges and benefits while in office and enjoy hefty pension benefits when they leave office (even after serving one or two terms).
Of all the many irritants that one faces with the functioning of the government one that is relevant to the tax season is worth mentioning here. The IRS of the US government wants every taxpayer to file the tax return electronically and coaxes tax software outfits to provide free service to certain segments of the population in terms of low income, military families, or senior citizens. It is working currently for those who take advantage of such facility. But still it has not reached those who are in need. Many folks pay tax preparers exorbitant fees to prepare and file their tax returns. To convert those who prepare and file paper returns on their own, IRS has now service on the web whereby taxpayers can download forms, fill them in, and file them electronically for free---which is the way it should be.
Now take the state of North Carolina. They too have a website where you can download a fillable form. But can the taxpayer file the return electronically? NO! The taxpayer has to fill it in, print it on paper and mail the paper return. Waste of paper and postage! Are they favoring paper makers? Are they favoring the postal department? Are they not doing a disservice to the taxpayer and the environment that way? If you can fill the forms electronically why can't you file it electronically? The reason for such prohibition is two-fold. One is they want to keep the paper pushers in the government offices gainfully employed (albeit at a very slow grinding pace) and the other is to help the tax preparing companies stay/flourish in business. Why? Because the tax preparers contribute to the election of the legislators. Even those tax software companies which comply with the Federal requirement to prepare and efile returns for free (for certain segments of the population) charge you to efile the state returns even though that requires only minimal further effort.
The irony here is that while you cannot file the tax return electronically the government will accept the tax payments electronically by debiting your bank account. What do you call this strategy----devious and vile?
The needs of the citizens have been submerged under the greed of the politicians. Who will rectify this situation?
It is not any different now. The elected officials in many countries act contrary to the will of the people who elected them despite making promises to look after their interests. They get elected by appealing to the voters but the money that they use as a means to get elected is provided by vested interests. Once they get elected they steer legislation not according to the wishes of the people who elected them but according to the dictates of the lobbyists who contributed financially to their election. Thus the lobbyists become the de facto power. This cycle continues forever. The interdependence of the elected officials and the lobbyists gets stronger as time goes by. If by chance the people defeat an incumbent and elect an outsider the lobbyists go after them and get them into their fold by enticing them with money.
The Congress in the United States is held in very low esteem by the general population (just 10% approval rating!). Despite such low rating the re-election rate of incumbents is very high (more than 60%). Apparently each constituency is made to feel that their congressman is noble. A few congressmen go to jail, a few others manage to resign "honorably" with hefty pensions, and a few others fight all charges of impropriety using their influence among their colleagues (den of thieves). All of them enjoy great privileges and benefits while in office and enjoy hefty pension benefits when they leave office (even after serving one or two terms).
Of all the many irritants that one faces with the functioning of the government one that is relevant to the tax season is worth mentioning here. The IRS of the US government wants every taxpayer to file the tax return electronically and coaxes tax software outfits to provide free service to certain segments of the population in terms of low income, military families, or senior citizens. It is working currently for those who take advantage of such facility. But still it has not reached those who are in need. Many folks pay tax preparers exorbitant fees to prepare and file their tax returns. To convert those who prepare and file paper returns on their own, IRS has now service on the web whereby taxpayers can download forms, fill them in, and file them electronically for free---which is the way it should be.
Now take the state of North Carolina. They too have a website where you can download a fillable form. But can the taxpayer file the return electronically? NO! The taxpayer has to fill it in, print it on paper and mail the paper return. Waste of paper and postage! Are they favoring paper makers? Are they favoring the postal department? Are they not doing a disservice to the taxpayer and the environment that way? If you can fill the forms electronically why can't you file it electronically? The reason for such prohibition is two-fold. One is they want to keep the paper pushers in the government offices gainfully employed (albeit at a very slow grinding pace) and the other is to help the tax preparing companies stay/flourish in business. Why? Because the tax preparers contribute to the election of the legislators. Even those tax software companies which comply with the Federal requirement to prepare and efile returns for free (for certain segments of the population) charge you to efile the state returns even though that requires only minimal further effort.
The irony here is that while you cannot file the tax return electronically the government will accept the tax payments electronically by debiting your bank account. What do you call this strategy----devious and vile?
The needs of the citizens have been submerged under the greed of the politicians. Who will rectify this situation?
Labels: election, influence peddling, lobbyists, politicians
