I’M TIRED OF THESE MUTHA[redacted] SNAKES IN MY MUTHA[redacted] WHITE HOUSE PT. 1
The Internal Revenue Service announced this weekend that it would be outsourcing its debt collection duties on amounts less than $25,000 to several private collection firms, a move, Paul Krugman notes, that takes us right back to the good old 16th century.
The decision was not made in order to reduce fraud, streamline collection, and reduce the burden on the federal budget. Privatization of collection forces will in fact increase the likelihood of fraud, complicate collections, and cost us more. The real reason behind the change is that Congress will not authorize the hiring of more I.R.S. agents. The real reason behind the no hiring policy is the easy attack to be made on any politician even remotely friendly to taxes, tax collectors, or the government in general.
With all this, no one has even bothered to patronize us with fortune cookie assurances:
“The main objection so far to the privatization program is that it is more expensive than internal collection. ‘I freely admit it,’ Mark W. Everson, the tax commissioner, told a House of Representatives committee in March.”
You would of thought they could at least re-hash the old "enemy that lurks, America is under attack" business.
According to the New York Times, private collection will bring in about $1.4 billion of revenue over the next decade. By hiring internal agents, the I.R.S. could instead bring in $9 billion each year. For you neo-cons out there, this means that expanding the current agency would net us six months of Regime Change each year, whereas outsourcing only brings in a few weeks of Regime Change per decade.
Check off another Win-Win for Conservatives, who get the privatization they always want, while taking a swipe at the most reviled institution in the federal government. For other highlights in Clandestine Infrastructure Realignment for Ideological Purposes, check out what the Bush Administration is doing to face down the Estate Tax.
Also: For any interested parties, I left a little note at Blue Mass Group this morning.
The decision was not made in order to reduce fraud, streamline collection, and reduce the burden on the federal budget. Privatization of collection forces will in fact increase the likelihood of fraud, complicate collections, and cost us more. The real reason behind the change is that Congress will not authorize the hiring of more I.R.S. agents. The real reason behind the no hiring policy is the easy attack to be made on any politician even remotely friendly to taxes, tax collectors, or the government in general.
With all this, no one has even bothered to patronize us with fortune cookie assurances:
“The main objection so far to the privatization program is that it is more expensive than internal collection. ‘I freely admit it,’ Mark W. Everson, the tax commissioner, told a House of Representatives committee in March.”
You would of thought they could at least re-hash the old "enemy that lurks, America is under attack" business.
According to the New York Times, private collection will bring in about $1.4 billion of revenue over the next decade. By hiring internal agents, the I.R.S. could instead bring in $9 billion each year. For you neo-cons out there, this means that expanding the current agency would net us six months of Regime Change each year, whereas outsourcing only brings in a few weeks of Regime Change per decade.
Check off another Win-Win for Conservatives, who get the privatization they always want, while taking a swipe at the most reviled institution in the federal government. For other highlights in Clandestine Infrastructure Realignment for Ideological Purposes, check out what the Bush Administration is doing to face down the Estate Tax.
Also: For any interested parties, I left a little note at Blue Mass Group this morning.
posted by Mike | 7:21 AM
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