Several years ago, I wrote a column suggesting that when it
came to abusing power, President Nixon was a piker compared to
the Clintons. A book released at the time, "The Arrogance of
Power: The Secret World of Richard Nixon," alleged that
Nixon tried to sic the Internal Revenue Service on his political
enemies. He may well have intended to, but he never succeeded.
Nixon selected Johnnie Walters as his IRS commissioner and when
presidential aide H.R. Haldeman presented Mr. Walters with his
list of hundreds of people that Nixon wanted audited, the
commissioner refused and put away the list in a safe. Enemies of
the Clinton administration were not that lucky. Is it any wonder
that the full Barrett report is not being released?
One man, Steve Forbes, has a plan to make sure no president has
similar power ever again. He wants to eliminate the IRS. Right
about now,W-2s are being received, and the sturm und drang of the
tax-filing season will weigh heavily on all hard-working
Americans until April 15. According to Mr. Forbes's latest book,
"Flat Tax Revolution," if America switched over to this
system, we could file our tax returns with a postcard and abolish
the IRS. What an excellent idea.
One of the first things I admitted to Mr. Forbes when I met him
last week at the Forbes building on Fifth Avenue was that I did
not vote for him in the 2000 GOP primary but that my husband
did.My pick was Senator McCain, whom I admired very much until he
went on "Saturday Night Live" as a guest host and made
a fool of himself. My fiscally wiser husband thought Mr. Forbes's
flat tax idea was great and the fact that the father of five is
pro-life made him a perfect candidate.
To me, however, the idea of a flat tax was frightening. What
about my real estate and other tax deductions? What would happen
to charities that depend on donations that can be tax deductible?
Would the working poor who are not liable for taxes now have to
pay them? I posed all of my doubts to Mr. Forbes, who graciously
answered them all. The result? I'm actually thinking this could
really work. I was especially delighted when I asked Mr. Forbes
who would be hurt the most by the flat tax revolution. His
answer: lobbyists. Well, considering what's happening now with
the Abramoff scandal, that's a positive loss. Tax attorneys, Mr.
Forbes said, are smart enough to find other venues for their
talents. Accountants would still be needed for their bookkeeping
skills. Those tax preparers who live off our entangled tax codes
would probably be put out of business. In addition, the 100,000
IRS employees who presently have our lives under their control
would have to be retrained. I pity them not.
In chapter seven of his book, Mr. Forbes explains that the flat
tax would actually reduce interest rates, including mortgage
rates. It would increase the value of housing and leave
homeowners with more after-tax income. In the same chapter, he
also claims that charities would not suffer because Americans do
not have to be bribed by the tax code to give, and history
demonstrates that people give whether tax rates are high or low.
The bottom line is that when people have more, they give more.
There are also generous exemptions for low-income families.
Savings would no longer be taxed.
Other nations have already succeeded with the flat tax, and Mr.
Forbes said he believes that this system would unleash the full
economic potential of the country and stimulate growth in the
form of more jobs and more government revenue to fund programs
like Social Security and Medicare. What about Social Security, I
asked? Mr. Forbes answered that the president was remiss in not
presenting a more specific proposal to reform Social Security,
giving opponents the opportunity to run deceptive campaigns. No
member of AARP or anyone older than 50 would be affected by any
proposed changes in this program. The frenzied opposition
completely disregarded the fact that Social Security may not be
there for our children and grandchildren.
I asked Mr. Forbes if he would ever consider a position in the
administration. He smiled widely and said, "Well, I'd have
to consider it, but I don't think that will happen." He
insists he is not interested in seeking political office, saying
he prefers to be an agitator getting the message out there for
what will be good for the country.
Far from arrogant for power, Steve Forbes seems content with the
role of messenger.