Why the Tax Debate is a Waste of Time

With the recent mid-term elections shifting the balance of power back toward the GOP, President Obama and his advisers now find themselves required to negotiate with Republican leadership in order to pave the way for future compromise. All of this really amounts to more political posturing on both sides, but the current headline debate centers on the Bush-era tax cuts and whether they'll be extended and to whom. That debate is really about whether or not Obama is willing to allow tax "breaks" for the wealthiest Americans, most notably omitting a large increase in estate and inheritance taxes.

The glaring issue with the debate around estate taxes, as I see it, is that all the money in an estate that is passing from one person to another has already been taxed at least once by the federal government. It seems that most people want to overlook this while arguing about whether or not it's "fair" to give tax "breaks" to the wealthiest Americans. The wealthy are already paying the vast majority of taxes in this country, which is as it should be. And they are already re-taxed on all estate transfers, just not at the 45% that some government leaders would like to see. At the end of the day, this is just more of a desperate money grab on the part of a federal government that refuses to address the real problems that exist.

Arguments and debates about tens or hundreds of billions in tax revenue from this source or that source are pointless when the real problem is that the government already mishandles trillions in taxes on a yearly basis. The United States government - at all levels - is abhorrently inefficient and structurally corrupt. That's not a rant against government or even politicians, it's just stating a simple fact about how the government operates in this country.

The solution is a comprehensive and objective re-tooling of the programs, policies and agencies that receive tax dollars on a yearly basis. This would be a monumental undertaking and one that would likely draw the ire of politicians and civic leaders on all sides. But it is the only solution to the financial problems that we face. This approach is not to be confused with austerity measures being implemented in other countries around the world. Instead, this is simply a comprehensive audit of where our tax money is going and how it's being spent. One agency at a time, one program at a time. There are independent firms around the world who are more than capable of providing this service and the impact could be huge and tremendously beneficial to all of us.

The likely outcome of such an endeavor would be leaner, more efficient government programs and agencies. Better technologies could be introduced. Some government employees would no longer be needed, but new hires would be required in other areas as well. At the end of the day, it's really a win-win scenario. Even though no one will want to hear the hard-nosed and objective suggestions to cut employees here or shutter programs there, the long-term effect will be that every American gets more in return for his or her tax dollars. That should be the ultimate goal of government in this country.