Sure, the President claims not to pay any attention to blogs, but we aren't sure how else you could explain the latest news in light of our recent piece on Paul Volcker. At first glance you would think The Volck a bit too busy with that whole "saving the financial world" project to take on a task as gargantuan as reforming the tax code, but if you look at the meeting record of the Presidential Economic Recovery Advisory Board (won't take long, there isn't one) it quickly becomes apparent that there's plenty of time for side projects.
President Barack Obama is putting former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker in charge of a tax-code review aimed at closing loopholes, streamlining the law and generating revenue, budget Director Peter Orszag said.Volcker, 81, who heads the president's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, is being asked to take a top-to-bottom look at the laws in an effort to rebalance the tax system.
Obama Asks Volcker to Lead Panel on Tax-Code Overhaul [Bloomberg]
Posted by guest , Mar 25, 2009 12:07PM
EP - I don't know how familiar you are with US legislative history, but being sent to chair a group on "tax reform and simplification" is the equivalent to being sent to Siberia. It's a death knell, a bitch slap, the move to the windowless office next to the men's room, in short - the ultimate marginalization.
Posted by guest , Mar 25, 2009 12:11PM
In Japan, they put you in a windowless office with no telephone and wait for you to excuse yourself.
Posted by BottomFellOut , Mar 25, 2009 12:27PM
What happens when the Chinese dont turn up to the US auction?
Someone didnt turn up to the UK one?
Posted by Novice , Mar 25, 2009 12:34PM
@1 I think ep knows this. What's clear is that Paul should deliver a quick coup-de-grace to Larry Summers and announce that he's succeeded to his office.
He could probably get the Russians to do Summers in for free.
Posted by guest , Mar 25, 2009 12:36PM
Why don't they just tap Steve Forbes for this so Volker can work on the uber important stuff going on at the moment?
Posted by guest , Mar 25, 2009 12:36PM
@3 - dont worry. ben is buying. he has a big order to fill
Posted by guest , Mar 25, 2009 12:37PM
Michael Moore is near Bowling Green, waiting to pounce. Be on the look out!
Posted by guest , Mar 25, 2009 12:58PM
@ 7 - i wondered why the floor was shaking
Posted by guest , Mar 25, 2009 12:59PM
@ 7 - i wondered why the floor was shaking
Posted by HeadlessHorseman , Mar 25, 2009 1:17PM
“…closing loopholes, streamlining the law…”
"...rebalance the tax system."
Well that all sounds benign enough. We certainly wouldn’t want anything to be out of balance. And who could possibly be against a little streamlining?
Certainly has a better ring to it than:
"....massively restructure the system in a concerted effort to further improve the lives of the unrepentantly lazy fucktards that refuse to get out of bed on days other than the 1st and 15th by siphoning of ever larger portions of the income from entrepreneurial small business owners that have, in many instances, risked their marriages by working 80+ hours a week, forgone coaching their kid's baseball team, and risked bankrupting their families to start their own businesses (not to mention the considerable portion of Americans employed at corporations where they work 70 hours a week, travel across the globe taking red-eye flights after having put themselves in debt to earn bachelor's and master's degrees (often reducing or deferring their earning potential at the same time) in an effort to better the lives of their families and provide for their children so the government doesn't have to.
I guess it’s all in how you word it. I suppose it’s a good thing then that President Obama appears to have most of the mainstream media working diligently to accommodate his proposals and to ensure that all of his initiatives are presented (or sold if you like) to the public from only the most favorable of perspectives.
Posted by guest , Mar 25, 2009 1:30PM
headless -
oh c'mon - every single small biz owner cheats the fuck outta his taxes
Posted by guest , Mar 25, 2009 1:33PM
"... that have, in many instances, risked their marriages by working 80+ hours a week, forgone coaching their kid's baseball team, and risked bankrupting their families to start their own businesses (not to mention the considerable portion of Americans employed at corporations where they work 70 hours a week, travel across the globe taking red-eye flights after having put themselves in debt to earn bachelor's and master's degrees (often reducing or deferring their earning potential at the same time) in an effort to better the lives of their families and provide for their children..."
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!! I made sucky career choices WAAAAAAAAAAAAA WAAAAAAAAAA
Posted by guest , Mar 25, 2009 1:33PM
@11 Exactly. Why else am I paying tax on my falafel order at the cash-only falafel house?
Posted by guest , Mar 25, 2009 1:34PM
@ 13 -- it's the American way!!!
Posted by guest , Mar 25, 2009 1:41PM
who are these people that get out of bed on only the 1st and 15th? I suspect they're like Reagan's welfare queen in a Cadillac: they exist only in your imagination.
Posted by guest , Mar 25, 2009 1:42PM
The 'closing the tax gap' part should be easy. Nominate more Democrats to office. As if it, there are a lot of vacancies.
I know. That joke (which is funny because it is so true) has been flogged to death but what can you do when the Messiah provides the opening all over again?
Posted by Equity Private , Mar 25, 2009 1:42PM
@1: I think I failed to inject sufficient sarcasm into the post. If anyone doubted that Volcker was being mushroomed (put in a dark corner and covered with manure) this pretty much settles the issue.
Posted by guest , Mar 25, 2009 2:02PM
"rebalance" eh? Does that mean everybody else is going to start paying taxes again?
and @11 - sorry, we're just not like you. We do pay our taxes.
Posted by guest , Mar 25, 2009 2:33PM
OUR recent piece on Paul Volcker???????
WTF? This is a massive exaggeration. You just linked to Politico and quoted their work product.
So, EP, you, an anonymous blogger who may or may not have worked in a junior private equity position, are claiming to have prodded the President to action?
As if...
Posted by guest , Mar 25, 2009 3:01PM
This has Larry Summers MO all over it.
Why is it that nobody want to work at treasury?
Geithner seems like he is a true summers protegy. Arrogant prick.
Interesting that Geithner wasn't sure today whether or not he was in favor of the Chinese and Russian proposal to strip the USD of "reserve currency status. First he showed public support for this notion and then reversed that postion (after the "great" bond auctions today?)
Posted by guest , Mar 25, 2009 3:12PM
Geithner is an empty suit, but he'll always have Steve Liesman to lick his ass clean for him.
Posted by Novice , Mar 25, 2009 3:20PM
@19 Once you come down to us mortals from your high horse, keep in mind that Politico only exists to provide a drossy veneer over the self-serving leaks their sources deliver (cf TNR's Summers article). With luck, this kissing up to one part of the establishment will firmly lodge them in the firmament of the media establishment, at which point they can all get jobs working for dying newspapers.
Don't doubt EP's ability to move the markets. You'll notice that the Treasury had two (2) conference calls with bloggers (les autres) and more-respectable news sites (db) on Geithner's plan.
Result: Indices up 7%.
Coincidence: I think not.
Also I'm informed that Joe Biden is a great fan of Muffy.
Posted by guest , Mar 25, 2009 9:34PM
@10 - Agree
@15 When I entertained the idea of becoming a doctor I interned at a public health clinic in a slum North of Chicago called, ha, North Chicago. While some people were desperately in need of care and would pay for it if they could, there was a large minority (no pun intended) that were gaming the system. There were more than several 3rd generation welfare recipients who took advantage our compassion for humanity. Many of them had drug problems, specifically prescription drug problems, that were enabled by the taxes we pay. They were demanding and they were rude with an overwhelming sense of entitlement. I always suggested substituting rat poison for hydrocodone, but that is another story.
Anyhow, those that abuse the system are far more numerous and far more costly than most care to understand. Your deficit of knowledge likely comes from your lack of exposure to the lower rungs of society. I suggest you take off for a month and volunteer in a clinic around the Polo Grounds, Hyde Park or Compton areas (depending on your domicile)
Until you've actually experienced these slums first hand remember that the opinion of the uniformed is more than deleterious to discussion. And do not forget that much of Rome's downfall can be attributed to their welfare system: Bread and Circuses.
That noted, European curve will go bid tonight.
-RPB