"I should have been more careful." In his hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, that was how Secretary of Treasure-designate Timothy Geithner explained his failure to pay more than $34,000 in taxes. Geithner, one of the more controversial nominees to Obama's new Cabinet, apologized for the "unintentional" mistakes. Not surprisingly, several Republicans still have serious doubts about Geithner's ability to handle billions of our tax dollars. Sen. Olympia Snowe (Maine) was not one of them. She brushed aside Geithner's personal scandal and said it shouldn't "preclude his nomination." I disagree. This isn't Geithner's money he would be mismanaging. It's ours.
Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.), Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, is also under investigation for tax fraud. If Geithner is successfully confirmed and Rangel refuses to step aside, it would mean the two people most responsible for crafting U.S. tax policy will be suspected tax cheats. Both have cited ignorance about our tax law as an excuse. Surely, it's not asking too much that the leaders in charge of writing and enforcing America's tax policy know what they are doing.
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