To my mind, no government worker should EVER receive ANY kind of bonus or incentive that has not been specifically authorized by a vote of the people, and a high majority vote at that. It's our money, and it should be spent on the tasks we have charged the government with undertaking, unless we give them direct permission to do otherwise. To me that's just common sense, but apparently not so in Washington. Every year our government spends millions more than it takes in, on projects we do not need, in order to secure votes and perpetuate their own agendas. Then, they claim they need MORE money and declare that those with more must "pay their fair share" for more wasteful programs meant to secure more votes for these politicians and to further perpetuate their agendas. Isn't it funny how the government gets to decide what the definition of the word fair is, and we just have to sit on our thumbs and take it? Fair share my eye. While the government continuously begs for money with its left hand and places that money into the treasury, its right hand is pulling the money right back out as fast as it goes in, stuffing its own pockets in the process. It happens every day, and unless you are actively looking for truth, you are none the wiser about such activities. Here is just one example...
We've learned that the IRS wants to give out $70 million in bonuses to their employees. That's right, the folks at the Internal Revenue Service believe they deserve extra free money, courtesy of John Q. Taxpayer. Um...excuse me? The agency that's just been exposed for intimidating the political opponents of the current administration wants to give their employees bonuses? As in, money on top of what they already get paid? No, that can't be right. The agency that wasted millions on hotel suites and line dancing wants to give MORE money to its employees? Are you kidding me? The pure arrogance of these thieves- and yes they are thieves- is absolutely mind blowing! To tell taxpaying Americans that while this economy is stagnant and millions are still struggling to find work, the nation's tax collectors will be getting $70 million in bonuses, requires a degree of stupidity, corruption and arrogance that until now I did not believe existed. Let me explain a little bit...
First of all, we are furloughing air traffic controllers, we cancelled Navy week, and we "can't afford" to give tours of the White House (all supposedly due to sequestration), but we have $70 million of taxpayer money to just give away to the employees of the agency charged with collecting our tax dollars? Talk about an accounting error! To call this suspicious is the understatement of this century. When you dig deeper, the subversion begins to rear its nasty head.
In order for the IRS to be able to give $70 million in bonuses to its employees, 1 of 2 things must be true. Either the government budgeted that money ahead of time when they appropriated the funds for the IRS, or they have $70 million left over in their budget for this year. If they have the money left over, HOW? This agency is asking for MORE money and they have $70 million lying around unused? That's called fraud folks. If we are over budgeting the IRS by this much, then our entire government obviously needs a top to bottom, line by line overhaul, starting with the IRS. But then, the government never leaves money unspent, does it? More on this in a moment...
The other possibility here is that the budget allotted to the IRS, which again is in charge of collecting your tax dollars and mine, included the funds for bonuses from the beginning. If this were the case, then it would be clear that the government has actually surpassed my assumptions about the rampant corruption within its ranks. There is no reason whatsoever that the IRS should be given tens of millions of dollars to give to its employees on top of their salaries. For one, it's blatantly obvious that the IRS does not deserve the money already going to its employees, let alone bonuses. They can't even properly do the one job they're supposed to do as an agency- enforce the tax code. Whether the political intimidation of conservatives came from the top, or if it was just "a few rogue agents" (which we know it was not), the IRS has forfeited all trust of the American people, or what little trust there was. An agency that can't be trusted certainly deserves no bonus money for its employees. I'd really like to know what the hell these government minions think they've done to even earn these bonuses. Better yet, I want to see the head of the IRS look into the eyes of a furloughed worker who had to restructure their budget to compensate for fewer hours, or an 8th grader who missed out on a tour of the White House because Mr. Obama wanted to make a point, and try to justify handing out $70 million in bonuses to employees of the IRS. It's arrogant, it's massively stupid, it's corrupt, and it's one of the strongest examples of government waste and abuse in recent memory. There's just no justification for this, period.
Now, as it turns out, not only was this money actually budgeted to the IRS, these bonuses were negotiated by, get this folks- the National Treasury Employees Union. I'll give you a moment to let that sink in. That's right, unionized employees of the Treasury Department, engaged in collective bargaining with the Treasury Department, to decide how much of our money they should be entitled to, all without ever doing anything to earn the bonuses they negotiated for themselves. If you're not boiling with anger you may want to double check your pulse. I don't want to get too far off topic, but this has to be said: I will concede that there are reasonable arguments for the existence of private sector unions, but public unions, specifically government unions, are never justifiable. It's simple- private unions can negotiate with employers about how much work will be expected from the union laborers at what cost to the employer, because one party has the money and one has the potential labor. There is a mutually beneficial exchange. However, it is unacceptable for government workers to negotiate with the government over wages, benefits or bonuses, because the party who has the money they are bargaining over (i.e. we the American taxpayers) does not get a seat at the negotiating table. We have the treasury department negotiating with the treasury department over how much of our money they must be paid before they do their jobs, jobs which are supposed to be PUBLIC SERVICE JOBS! At the very least it's unethical, and at worst it's outright theft. Regardless of who is in office, this practice is unacceptable and obviously unsustainable. I'm sure most Americans would agree that the government should not be able to negotiate bonuses with our money, without our consent. But this is yet another power that the federal government has conjured out of thin air for itself, and we've let it go unchecked for years. It's partially because our politicians and bureaucrats are too greedy to let go of this power, and partially because atrocities like these are little known or discussed among average Americans. This kind of arrogance can't be tolerated, and those who allow it to happen must be held accountable or nothing will change. But it will take awareness among a majority of Americans to get anything done. It'd be great to have whistle blowers start coming out of the shadows to expose these types of transgressions, and to have a media with the gumption to challenge the thugs in DC about it, but I digress...
If the IRS is allowed to distribute these bonuses, then EVERY higher up official in the IRS, every Member of Congress who approved the bill appropriating the budget for the IRS (and those who authorized any other government worker bonuses), and Treasury Secretary, Jack Lew, should all be fired, impeached, censured, or what have you. The President should be held accountable as well if these bonuses go through. President Obama has refused to take responsibility for anything the IRS has done so far. Well, his budget office issued an order in April that was supposed to keep these kinds of bonuses from happening (FYI that order happens to have been written by Daniel Werfel, the current acting IRS commissioner). If the President can't keep these bonuses from happening, then he deserves to be held accountable (of course he won't even entertain the idea that he should shoulder any responsibility for anything). The President is the head of the executive branch of our government, charged with enforcing the laws of our nation. If he won't enforce his own budget office's directives, then why would we trust him to enforce the bill of rights (or the boarder...).
I know it sounds like a broken record sometimes, but this is yet another issue that highlights the corruption of big government. Within this one story, you see the arrogance of our government, who believe they are entitled to whatever they decide they want from us, you see the scope of the power held by government unions over our wallets, you see the inability of this administration to control its own employees, and you see the lack of fortitude on the part of the media to go out and find the truth about government waste and corruption, for fear that it will harm the agenda of the President. It's certainly not the biggest revelation out of Washington this year, but it's no less important than anything we've seen. This government (not just this one, but this one more than any in modern American history) subscribes to a ruling class mentality, and it becomes more apparent with each passing day. They believe they are entitled to what we have. They believe they know what's best for us better than we do. And they believe that they have the right to take whatever they want from us and do with it as they see fit, without our input. They believe that they possess a moral superiority which gives them this right. They honestly believe that they have transcended our lowly inferior intellect and that they alone know the true role of government. They have no regard for the Constitution except when they choose to twist its words for their own perverse purposes. They have no regard for the good of the American people, except in the rhetoric they use to drum up votes. None of them have any interest in helping anyone but themselves. It's going to be up to you and me, we the people, to reign in the corruption of the American ruling class. We can't count on the politicians or the bureaucrats (regardless of how genuine they may seem), and we certainly can't trust the media to help in the fight. So it's up to you and me, and every other red, white and blue blooded American that wants this country to grow and prosper and endure for centuries and beyond. Stay informed, and keep looking for opportunities to do your part.
"Full of fear. Ever clear. I'll be here, fighting forever..." -Breaking Benjamin
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