>>If you're going to talk about tax breaks for corporations, then you have to talk about fraud from Earned Income Tax Credits. The Treasure Dept Inspector General has acknowledged that the IRS improperly pays out billions every year. The IRS was given recommendations years ago for how to trim this, but didn't implement them.
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>FWIW, I heard once from someone in a position to know that the EITC is the single most effective anti-poverty program we have.
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>Tamar
That's been an open/public statement for years (and I don't disagree with it). It is also (an admission from the govt) one of the most error-prone of all Federal Payments programs (as a % of total outlays for the program)
http://www.paymentaccuracy.gov/high-priority-programsAn argument can also be made that tax credits to businesses help American citizens as well. (Yes, some CEOs will find ways to pocket the money, but some will certainly use it to grow their business). This is not a simple topic.
However, I disagree with the assertion by another individual that Congressional cuts/sequestration adversely affected IRS' ability to implement measures to reduce improper payments. These recommendations from the Treasury Dept Inspector general long pre-dated sequestration. As a matter of fact, there was an executive order back in 2009 on this issue where the IRS has been ruled as non-compliant.
And here is the $64,000 question - if the IRS cannot (by its own admission) implement measures to address the high rate of improper payments, then how can they manage many of the financials of AHCA without similar outcomes?
I find it ironic that some will, on the one hand, supinely dismiss a certain level of waste (saying, in effect, "heck, you think losing/wasting 1 billion is waste? Look at how much was wasted in process XYZ").....yet overstate the effects of sequestration, which has been described by non-partisan economists as nothing more than growth rate reduction. Businesses and American citizens have had to deal with cuts and trimming for years - it's about time the federal govt did the same. When you hear the govt talk about the "devastating" effects of sequestration, and then look at actual numbers, it's quite interesting political theater.
It's important to remember that the idea of sequestration was first initiated by the White House (and then supported by the House) - and then the White House collectively turned around and used it as a political weapon in the press to try to bash their opposition.
