Daschle pays over $100,000 in back taxes

tired (0.00 / 0)

I'm getting mighty tired of these people not paying taxes.

Is Daschle: (a) stupid, or (b) corrupt?

In any event, he's unsuited for higher office.  Can't Obama find anybody who's honest for these positions? 

And what was going on in the vetting process?

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by: trudy @ Fri Jan 30, 2009 at 19:25:18 PM CST

sorry, i know some of y'al love the man, but i never did, and i am tired, too (0.00 / 0)

like trudy says. what happened to politicians who had enough gumption to pay their taxes. this isnt an idiot like joe the not quirte a plumber, this is the former speaker and long time elected official. does he think ex pols dont hav eto pay taxes. i was pissed about the new treasury dude, but he hhad a bit of an excuse, though just barely, daschle is just swinging it in the breeze, and pretty much in our faces. how about from this point forward we say no lobbyists, and nobody who cant be bothered to pay their taxes and nobody who cant remember to hire legal employees in the obama administration and this time, say it with feeling....

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by: UplandPoet @ Fri Jan 30, 2009 at 21:23:41 PM CST

The tragedy (0.00 / 0)

While I agree that people need to pay their taxes, the tragedy here is that there is no one better experienced to lead health care changes from both the Cabinet and the White House office. Daschle would be the linchpin who would assure a good bill, head the conference committee to moderate the Baucus bill in the Senate, the upcoming Kennedy bill in the Senate, and the House universal health care bill from last week.

Without him, it could be health care 1993 all over again because there is no one else with his stature, experience, and knowledge. (He's spent his post-Senate time working IN health care.)

Shame on those who would put this tax issue ahead of the far more important issue of Universal Health Care.  

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by: DocJess @ Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 03:55:46 AM CST

here is a compromise i could live with. seeing how he doesnt see the need (0.00 / 0)

to pay his taxes until he is trying to get a tax paid job, lets let him have the position, as long as he will work for free. dont pay your taxes, dont geta a paycheck funded by taxes, i am still not happy about the trend of hiring lobbyists, after obama promised he would not hire lobbyists. hard to imagine, i all of america, there is only one person who could do any job, be it a former raytheon employee, or a lobbyist who doesnt pay his taxes....

you know, if we were going to the wall for single payer, i might would be willing to turn a blind eye, maybe not, but knowing we are going to settle for an incremental plan, that leaves the profit and greed motif intact, i hate to fight that fight with a band of tainted soldiers. can we either fight a good fight with whatever ragtag band of rebels we can gather, or failing that, fight a limited war, with the best soldiers there are?

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by: UplandPoet @ Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 04:45:52 AM CST

He did repay the taxes (0.00 / 0)

Turn a blind eye -- with Daschle, it may not be incremental. He is the ONLY shot we have at that.  

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by: DocJess @ Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 04:47:23 AM CST

[ Parent ]

wowee (0.00 / 0)

I really doubt that Daschle is indispensable.  This is like saying we have to pour billions into corrupt financial institutions because they are "too big to fail," and then the institutions use the money to pay themselves bonuses

Surely someone else in this country of 300 million is both honest and capable.

As to he did repay the taxes, wowee, I wonder how that would go over with the police if a bank robber said, hey, I'll give the money back.  Consideration should be given to criminal charges against Daschle.

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by: trudy @ Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 05:29:28 AM CST

[ Parent ]

No Ma'am (0.00 / 0)

There is not one other living human being who was a Senator, and Senate Majority Leader, and therefore can work that system AND worked at researching health care and public health policy (he has published books on it, and taught) AND already has the respect of the people with whom he would be working. He is uniquely qualified.

Whatever your personal opinions of him, objectively, his resume is unequaled in the undertaking of this job.

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by: DocJess @ Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 05:53:00 AM CST

[ Parent ]

worse (0.00 / 0)

It appears that Daschle not only didn't report the transportation income, but claimed unsubstantiated charitable contributions and didn't report consulting fees.  That's called a pattern.

As to his Senate background particularly qualifying him, that sounds like cronyism, and I have to wonder about the people who respect a tax cheat.

At some point, corrupt financial institutions should fail, and tax cheat should be in jail.  I remain sure that any number of people who deserve our respect can work on this issue.

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by: trudy @ Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 06:33:40 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Working well with others is not a crime... (0.00 / 0)

it is not necessarily cronyism. When someone works somewhere, they know the people, they know the process, they know how things work.

And there are certainly people who CAN work on the project -- but pulling it off is something entirely different. Daschle loses the position (and I'm unclear whether this derails only the Cabinet position, or that plus the White House position) and you can kiss any hope of any meaningful health care reform goodbye.

And without that, and its impact on American businesses, you can say "hello and welcome" to the next crop of "up by your bootstraps" Republicans who will bring in market health care.

Despite any personal feelings you may have, it really IS that serious.  

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by: DocJess @ Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 06:43:52 AM CST

[ Parent ]

trudy, funny turn of events.. (0.00 / 0)

you and i are on the same side arguing against doc:) i certainly understand doc's position, and would even concede she might know more about this matter than i do, but i still think dascle may be a bridge too far. come on, dont we have some good democrats who are also morally respectable people? sometimes i feel the the "culture of corruption" may be the only truly bi partisan thing in washington, and generally, i am not a political skeptic....

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by: UplandPoet @ Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 07:13:15 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Nothing about good Democrats... (0.00 / 0)

The point here relates to a very specific skill set. For example, I'm a really terrific diagnostician, and would put my skills up against anyone. I am NOT a neurosurgeon. If I needed neurosurgery, or anyone I knew or loved did, I wouldn't care if THE BEST neurosurgeon was a tax cheat, I would care ONLY that he or she knew the equipment, had the experience, had the previous positive outcomes on that surgery, and therefore the patient would have the highest statistical probability of surviving the operation and living the best life possible.

Shepherding health care is not treating a sore throat, or high cholesterol, or any of the other every day medical complaints someone might have. This is neurosurgery, in an analogous way. Precision, competence, experience.

If your child or your spouse or significant other needed the kind of brain surgery that Ted Kennedy had - would you go for THE BEST or would you go for someone who was nowhere near as good, but had morals you preferred? And yeah, the choice here is a 95% of a positive outcome, vs. a 95% chance of death.  

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by: DocJess @ Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 07:32:56 AM CST

[ Parent ]

party (0.00 / 0)

If Daschle were a Republican, you'd have him in a crime of the day post, I'm thinking.  And, I suspect there is more than one brain surgeon in the country who is excellent.

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by: trudy @ Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 08:47:16 AM CST

[ Parent ]

maybe, but as obama is not even proposing a single payer system, i dont see us getting one (0.00 / 0)

at least not for another genration. in obamas defense, he is going to have to drag half of america down the road towards his plan, so maybe a system that really makes us competitive in nthe world market and increases the floor on the standard of living in this country is too much to hope for in a country that has eleceted W, bush 1 and ronald reagan, all in the span of less than 30 yrs....

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by: UplandPoet @ Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 05:38:34 AM CST

[ Parent ]

The only shot? (0.00 / 0)

I also find it hard to believe that there is only person in this whole country that can do this.

My first thoughts were that Obama should still support the nomination. But now I'm not sure. First, it's the magnitude of the problem. Geithner's problem was 5 digits. Daschle made it over $100,000. I think there may be a dividing line there.

I'm also concerned about the effect on Obama's support. His sky-high approval numbers  are based on good numbers from Independents, and some GOP support. If those people decide Obama is just like all the rest of those politicians they hate, and his numbers head back towards 50%, the GOP will feel even more emboldened in their opposition, and it will be harder for Obama to get things through Congress. (Not to mention the media meme that will form). I think Obama has to look at the bigger picture here, and decide whether pushing Daschle through is really worth it.

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by: Matt @ Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 12:39:53 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I don't believe getting health care reform through depends on Daschle being HHS Secretary (0.00 / 0)

It seems like saying that getting meaningful climate change legislation depends on having Gore as head of the EPA.

Daschle can still have a key role in the new health care plan even if he's not a member of the Cabinet; Obama so far has shown a pattern of setting up complicated interplays of personalities. Think about the way he work Summers in, for instance--would he have won easy confirmation as Treasury Secretary? And yet he's now Important Economics Guy (I don't feel like looking up the title).

So withdraw Daschle and then give him a position heading a health care tax force, or something like that.

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by: SarahLawrence Scott @ Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 08:46:15 AM CST

Current Proposal (0.00 / 0)

My understanding of the current proposal of the Obama Administration is a dual role for Senator Daschle.  Besides being the nominee to run HHS, he also will hold a staff position in the White House related to health care.

Thus, if they decide that it is not worth a heated hearing in the Finance Committee about tax issues, they could fall back to Daschle just taking the staff position.  However, I don't think that will satisfy those who think his lapse disqualifies him from any form of public service.

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by: tmess2 @ Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 10:53:47 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Source of Daschle's other tax issues? (0.00 / 0)

Trudy, I didn't see the info about charitable contributions and consulting fees in the ABC News link in the DCW Daschle article about his back taxes on the car and driver.  To what do you refer?

a.)Why did this info on Daschle's back taxes only come out now and not in the transition?
b.)He claims he asked his accountant five months before Obama was elected--did he pay all of the back taxes then, too?

All of this looks bad, of course, but if it was only this little oversight of the kingly "perk" that he got, I say let his work go forward.  If it's more of a pattern, I'm already not feeling so good about Obama's pick of someone who abuses his privilege.

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by: LindaS @ Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 11:02:57 AM CST

The charitable contribution (0.00 / 0)

The charitable contribution is mentioned here.

It's described as a donation to a wounded Iraq-war veteran, which was not tax-deductible because the donee is not a registered charity.

That sounds a little weird. Perhaps it's an innocent mistake. For example, the veteran set up a fund to help pay for his medical expenses, Daschle or his wife read about it, and then they contributed to it without realizing it wasn't tax-deductible. But I'd like to know more. We make charities register in part so that this kind of thing can't be abused. Is the veteran connected to Daschle in some way?

Honestly, that "little" $6000 piece makes me more nervous than the bit with the driver. The driver perk is the kind of mundane tax cheating that many people participate in. How many people report income from garage sales, for instance? Or--and here's a big one--how many of us pay sales tax on internet purchases from out of state? We're supposed to. Many states have separate forms just for reporting and paying that tax you owe. 99% of people don't do it. The vast majority of the country are tax cheats one way or another. I'm not excusing it, but if confirmation hearings decided to pick on sales tax on internet purchases, there goes most of the middle class candidates!

But the charitable piece sounds like there could be real shenanigans going on. To continue with the tax analogies from further down the income scale: Not paying sales tax on internet purchases is wrong, but sort of passive; you have to do more paperwork and accounting to do it right. But claiming someone as a dependent who is not is actively fraudulent. I think many people make a conceptual distinction between the two kinds of cheating, and the charitable contribution potentially falls into the second category, depending on the circumstances.

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by: SarahLawrence Scott @ Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 11:58:23 AM CST

[ Parent ]

The link didn't work. (0.00 / 0)

Not sure why, but the link didn't come through.

The charitable contribution is mentioned here, and if that didn't work, here's the url:

http://www.latimes.com/news/na...

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by: SarahLawrence Scott @ Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 11:59:51 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Did come out during the transition (0.00 / 0)

I believe he paid the taxes in early January, and reported all this to the Finance committee at that time. It just didn't become public until last evening. This is the reason his hearing has been delayed. (At least there's a real reason!)

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by: Matt @ Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 12:33:31 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Ridiculous (0.00 / 0)

No one is irreplaceable.
If Daschle were to die of a heart attack tomorrow someone else that is qualified for the job would be found.
There are starting to be too many people with tax issues and lobbying issues surfacing. The Obama administration are making too many excuses in order to keep the people that they want.
In my opinion Daschle should step aside and Obama needs to find someone else that is not so controversial.
Obama also needs to stick to his campaign promise of NO lobbyists in his White House period.  All of this flip-flopping is going to hurt him in 2012.

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by: Leah @ Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 12:58:08 PM CST

okay (0.00 / 0)

I wouldn't mind seeing him in a staff position. just not front and center in the Cabinet.

The charity thing is really stretching it in terms of could this be an honest mistake.  Maybe I am more aware because I always do my own taxes, but I thought everyone knew a charity has to be "registered" or whatever it is before you can count contributions to it on your income tax.  It is great when people help others in need in response to newspaper articles or neighborhood appeals, don't get me wrong about that.

I understand DocJess' concern about healthcare, but I just don't believe this is the only person who can do that.  And if he has a staff position, he can be working on it anyway.  Note that I have backed off from criminal charges, I was getting a bit carried away with my disappointment about the nominees having this stuff going on.

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by: trudy @ Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 13:31:18 PM CST

Howard? (0.00 / 0)

Say, if not Daschle, then who?  (Although I do think there is at least an even chance Daschle will get thru.)

How about Howard?  I know the theory is that he's waiting to run for Senator, but surely he knows everyone on the planet from being in Washington these past few years, and he's a doctor, for Pete's sake. 

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by: trudy @ Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 13:34:05 PM CST

Dean's an obvious choice (0.00 / 0)

And he could still leave anytime he wanted if a Senate seat opened up in VT.

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by: Matt @ Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 13:55:03 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I think y'all are wrong (0.00 / 0)

First, Howard Dean is an MD, and has been a Governor. But he has caused strife within the party, generally amoung those who decried his 50-state program, and didn't like his 2004 performance. He is not a consensus builder. While I personally find him charming and affable, as well as bright, he would be a much better candidate for Surgeon General. Dr. Dean is a purist, he's headstrong, he's dedicated -- but in trying to build to political allegiances necessary to actually pass AND implement Universal Health Care, he is not the guy who can get it done.

So, I've got $100 bucks that says if anyone other than Tom Daschle becomes Secretary of HHS, AND if he is prevented from the White House Health Position (I forget the formal title) - there is virtually no movement towards Universal Health Care by Election Day 2012. End of the donut hole for Medicare Part D? Sure. Expanded care for the poor, likely. But actual change? Even the allowance for the Fed to actively compete with the commercials, non-profits, and insurers of last resort, with buy-in for all, no exclusions for prior conditions nor actuarial risk? Not a chance.  

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by: DocJess @ Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 19:20:38 PM CST

well (0.00 / 0)

Well, we all know what a failure the fifty state program was :-)

And I am mighty tired of Dean being blamed for that directional mike thing.  He did darn well with the MSM going nuts about that and the Clintons kneecapping him.

Plus, he's honest,as well as smart. 

I am just baffled as to why you think a crook like Daschle is the Second Coming.

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by: trudy @ Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 20:11:53 PM CST

[ Parent ]

yeah, now that mccain is president, we all can really see how dumb the whole 50 state thing was (0.00 / 0)

and the michigan and florida primary debacle also contributed to why palin is one heartbeat from the red button.... oh, maybe dean isnt such an idiot, and i have $100 that says if daschle is confirmed we wont get universal health care this term...

i think he will hang on and be confirmed, but i think he should get out. he wont, but he should.

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by: UplandPoet @ Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 20:34:42 PM CST

[ Parent ]

dernit, my sarcasm is over the top (0.00 / 0)

i am sorry, i went to find the delete button but dont see one. doc, you dont deserve that from me. i do wish he would drop out, but i am sorry about the piling on. if you can delete both this and the yeah now mccain post, please do.

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by: UplandPoet @ Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 20:36:58 PM CST

[ Parent ]

No Worries (0.00 / 0)

Just for the record -- I didn't say that the 50-state program was bad -- I was an early supporter. I said SOME in the Democratic Party were against it.

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by: DocJess @ Sun Feb 01, 2009 at 04:05:33 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Some other candidates for HHS (0.00 / 0)

I kind of agree with Jessica that Dean would be a better Surgeon General than HHS Secretary.

It's not even remotely my field, but I'm trolling the web for some other possible names:

Jeanne Lambrew: already designated to be the HHS deputy. One of Daschle's coauthors on his book about health care. Doesn't have the political connections of Daschle, but again, the expertise and the political juice don't have to sit in the same person. It's nice that with Daschle they do, but it could still work to have a policy person and a political point person.

Max Baucus--yes, yet another Democratic Senator. Has the disadvantage that the Democrats are thinning out the senior members of their caucus in a hurry, but knows a heckuva lot about the problem and has the political savvy and connections. And yes, before you ask, Montana has a Democratic governor--Schweitzer, remember?

John McDonough--one of the people who actually did this in Massachusetts. Part of Ted Kennedy's staff. Legislative experience, albeit at the state level.

Who knows what skeletons any of those people have in their closets, but if I found that list in 20 minutes, there are surely other possibilities as well..

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by: SarahLawrence Scott @ Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 20:02:33 PM CST

not surgeon general (0.00 / 0)

I can't see Dean as Surgeon General.  It's really a nothing post, at best a bully pulpit.  Why would he want a nothing job when the cost is being away from Vermont and Judy a lot.

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by: trudy @ Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 20:13:45 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Other Candidates (0.00 / 0)

Lambrew and McDonough have a certain amount of potential. Baucus is a real problem because he is actually personally opposed to Universal Health Care. His submitted plan is a great interim step, but he's more "pro-business" than not, and therefore does NOT want to see the insurance companies out of business. Added together, insurance companies and drug companies would be his largest contributors. http://www.opensecrets.org/pol...
So I love his initial plan, I just don't see it having a chance to get a step further.  

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by: DocJess @ Sun Feb 01, 2009 at 04:20:51 AM CST

[ Parent ]

what's happening (0.00 / 0)

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/us/politics/01daschle.html

"Senate Democrats rushed on Saturday to save the nomination of their former leader, Tom Daschle, as President Obama’s health and human services secretary, while the White House sought to explain how Mr. Daschle survived its vaunted vetting process despite his failure to pay $128,000 in taxes.
...

Senior administration officials said that although Mr. Daschle was aware as early as June 2008 that he might have to pay back taxes for the use of a car and driver provided by a private equity firm, he did not inform the president’s transition team until mid-December, several days after Mr. Obama announced Mr. Daschle as his pick for health secretary.
...

“It’s totally shocking,” an aide to a Democratic senator said Saturday. “Why do we have to continue to have the same story over and over again with these nominees?”

...the revelations about his finances — which include more than $300,000 in income from health-related companies that he might regulate as secretary — raise questions about the presidential vetting process, as well as Mr. Obama’s ability to keep his pledge to run an administration free of outside influence.
...

already, Mr. Daschle is becoming the butt of Republican jokes...Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the party whip, had this to say after hearing the news about Mr. Daschle: “It is easy for the other side to advocate for higher taxes because — you know what? — they don’t pay them.”
...

As a politician, Mr. Daschle often struck a populist note, but his financial disclosure report shows that in the last two years, he received $2.1 million from a law firm, Alston & Bird; $2 million in consulting fees from a private equity firm run by a major Democratic fundraiser, Leo Hindery Jr. (which provided him with the car and driver); and at least $220,000 for speeches to health care, pharmaceutical and insurance companies. He also received nearly $100,000 from health-related companies affected by federal regulation."

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by: trudy @ Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 20:24:18 PM CST

p.s. (0.00 / 0)

Time to withdraw from consideration, Tom.

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by: trudy @ Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 20:26:22 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Enough (0.00 / 0)

Yeah, enough. If he knew about this for six months and didn't tell the transition team, that's problematic in too many ways.

As Trudy said, it's time for Daschle to withdraw so Obama can start considering the alternatives.

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by: SarahLawrence Scott @ Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 21:05:58 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Says something (0.00 / 0)

about both the vetting process, and Daschle. Both seem rather flawed right now.

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by: Matt @ Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 23:47:08 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Wash Post (0.00 / 0)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/31/AR2009013102021_2.html

"He also has been a trustee of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. For part of the $2 million he received from the law firm Alston & Bird over the past two years, Daschle also reported that he gave "policy advice" to United Health, a conglomerate that sells insurance, helps the government administer Medicaid, advises drug companies and physicians and dispenses prescriptions.

The 12 organizations or companies that paid Daschle speaking fees, ranging from $12,000 to $30,000, included the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy and America's Health Insurance Plans, an influential trade group.

The Health Industry Distributors Association, a trade association representing medical product distributors, wrote to Daschle last week to express concerns about proposed Medicare changes and reminded him of the $14,000 speech he delivered at its conference last year.

"As you may recall from speaking to some of our members during HIDA's 2008 Executive Conference in Miami, where you were the keynote speaker, a competitive bidding program will undermine access to quality care for millions of beneficiaries," said the letter, which was posted on the group's Web site."

I'll add:  That's a benign view of United Health, which is a mega-insurance company and does not "help the government administer Medicare" out of the goodness of its heart.  I know UH best as the company that runs my former employer's health plan and now administers the Medicare Plan D (prescriptions) plan I have.  It certainly is in it solely for big bucks.

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by: trudy @ Sun Feb 01, 2009 at 08:25:54 AM CST