[xtypo_dropcap]T[/xtypo_dropcap]he transgressions of Congressman Charles Rangel are clear enough. He evaded taxes by not disclosing a Dominican rental property he owned, he used rent-stabilized apartments meant for people of low income, and improperly solicited donations from businesses that stood to gain from swaying his opinion.
On Thursday Rangel censured in Congress, being publicly chastised by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Unfortunately, the real issue, which goes far beyond Rangel and bipartisan game playing, has not been addressed by Congress or the media.
You see, Rangel is not just any politician getting a smack on his wrist. Rangel is the quintessential modern American politician, and he represents the system, and our government itself.
In the 1950s, Rangel heroically served in the Korean War, earning a Purple Heart and the Bronze Star for Valor. He then worked his way up in public office, eventually serving in Congress for 40 years. The 80-year-old Rangel now represents Harlem, the same place he was born.
Even after the ethics charges were leveled against him in March, the ever-popular Rangel still easily won his seat back yet again in November. I myself lived in his district for four years and had the impression he was genuinely a good guy. I also know people who have worked with him directly and said the same thing.
For 35 years, Rangel served on the powerful House, Ways and Means Committee, which oversees taxation and tariffs. He was even selected to become chairman of this committee in 2007, only to leave the position this year after the charges were revealed.
To look at Rangel as some conniving and greedy politician simply doesn’t tell the whole story. He may have done greedy and conniving things, but the real story here isn’t a few of the mistakes of one congressman, it’s the system, our government itself that is the issue.
The monstrous 70,000-page beast that is U.S. tax law (including both the official 5,000-page code and reams of interpretations and explanations published by the Commerce Clearing House) is so heinous in its level of micro-manipulation of U.S. citizens that even our land’s highest congressional official in charge of taxation wanted to evade it. What does that tell you?
The level of scrutiny that our federal government has over people’s lives has gotten out of control.
Rangel evaded taxes. But, do we have too many taxes and too much tax law? Yes.
Rangel improperly used rent-stabilized apartments. But, should our federal government (or any other) control what landlords charge? Probably not.
Rangel improperly solicited donations from businesses that stood to gain from swaying his opinion. But, should our federal government be in a position where it should have anything other than the most basic opinions on matters of individual businesses? Ideally not.
Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of ultra-Republican governor of Texas, Rick Perry. In theory, Rangel, a New York Democrat, and Perry are polar opposites on the political spectrum, and Perry should want to see Rangel lose his job to a Republican.
Yet, with his cowboy conservative ideology, Perry himself has often contended that all the federal government should be responsible for is standing a military, securing the borders, and delivering the mail. From this perspective, the federal government has no place questioning Rangel over excessive rules it shouldn’t have.
However cartoonish I find him, Perry’s world of simpler and smaller government is certainly a world worth striving for. And in that striving, it is important not to get sidetracked, as our government and media seem to be, by minor episodes like that of Charles Rangel, and instead focus on real overarching impediments to a better way of government and life, like our oversized tax code for starters.
On Thursday Rangel censured in Congress, being publicly chastised by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Unfortunately, the real issue, which goes far beyond Rangel and bipartisan game playing, has not been addressed by Congress or the media.
You see, Rangel is not just any politician getting a smack on his wrist. Rangel is the quintessential modern American politician, and he represents the system, and our government itself.
In the 1950s, Rangel heroically served in the Korean War, earning a Purple Heart and the Bronze Star for Valor. He then worked his way up in public office, eventually serving in Congress for 40 years. The 80-year-old Rangel now represents Harlem, the same place he was born.
Even after the ethics charges were leveled against him in March, the ever-popular Rangel still easily won his seat back yet again in November. I myself lived in his district for four years and had the impression he was genuinely a good guy. I also know people who have worked with him directly and said the same thing.
For 35 years, Rangel served on the powerful House, Ways and Means Committee, which oversees taxation and tariffs. He was even selected to become chairman of this committee in 2007, only to leave the position this year after the charges were revealed.
To look at Rangel as some conniving and greedy politician simply doesn’t tell the whole story. He may have done greedy and conniving things, but the real story here isn’t a few of the mistakes of one congressman, it’s the system, our government itself that is the issue.
The monstrous 70,000-page beast that is U.S. tax law (including both the official 5,000-page code and reams of interpretations and explanations published by the Commerce Clearing House) is so heinous in its level of micro-manipulation of U.S. citizens that even our land’s highest congressional official in charge of taxation wanted to evade it. What does that tell you?
The level of scrutiny that our federal government has over people’s lives has gotten out of control.
Rangel evaded taxes. But, do we have too many taxes and too much tax law? Yes.
Rangel improperly used rent-stabilized apartments. But, should our federal government (or any other) control what landlords charge? Probably not.
Rangel improperly solicited donations from businesses that stood to gain from swaying his opinion. But, should our federal government be in a position where it should have anything other than the most basic opinions on matters of individual businesses? Ideally not.
Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of ultra-Republican governor of Texas, Rick Perry. In theory, Rangel, a New York Democrat, and Perry are polar opposites on the political spectrum, and Perry should want to see Rangel lose his job to a Republican.
Yet, with his cowboy conservative ideology, Perry himself has often contended that all the federal government should be responsible for is standing a military, securing the borders, and delivering the mail. From this perspective, the federal government has no place questioning Rangel over excessive rules it shouldn’t have.
However cartoonish I find him, Perry’s world of simpler and smaller government is certainly a world worth striving for. And in that striving, it is important not to get sidetracked, as our government and media seem to be, by minor episodes like that of Charles Rangel, and instead focus on real overarching impediments to a better way of government and life, like our oversized tax code for starters.
