Daschle and Geithner: The Damage to Tax Collection Has Been Done

Whether the President appoints Daschle or not, the damage has been done.  Anyone close to tax enforcement knows that voluntary compliance with tax laws is necessary and essential for the system to work.  The IRS does not have the resources to track down tax cheaters if the percentage of cheating climbs up to, say, the level of tax cheating in Italy.  What Daschle and Geithner have done is convince ordinary citizens that paying taxes routinely and carefully every year is for suckers.  Talk shows, newspapers and morning news shows are all over the tax "mistakes" of Daschle and Geithner and they all ask the same question  -- "Is it that easy to cheat and not pay a penalty (or even interest on owed money)?"