Political Humor

President Obama’s choice for Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has been taking some heat for tax evasion, but I have a different take on his tax fraud. In this political editorial I will explain why I applaud President Obama for choosing Timothy Geithner to head the Treasury Department.

According to reports, Geithner “failed to pay self-employment taxes for money he earned from 2001 to 2004 while working for the International Monetary Fund.” Although many have criticized his minor oversight, I believe that Geithner is just the kind of person that we need in charge of our money. President Obama has made a shrewd choice in selecting this American Patriot to this important government office.

Although Obama said that campaign slogans “need to be more than just election sloganeering,” (campaign slogans also make great post-election merchandise), it is clear that with his nod toward Geithner that President Obama does not, in fact, plan to spread the wealth around. And Timothy Geithner is the hired gun to make damn sure that doesn’t happen. The Treasury Secretary in waiting understands that his money is HIS money and not the government’s money. This is one of the core principles of conservatism. In fact, our country was founded upon a stubborn refusal to pay taxes.

Sure, you have to pay your taxes, but Geithner is rich and privileged and you’re not.. As this nation’s Presidential lineage has shown, we as a people like to be led by the rich and privileged. In fact, it is often the only real standard we hold our elected representative to.

Vice President Joe Biden once declared that paying higher taxes is patriotic. I find that as a general measuring stick, looking at what Democrats declare to be patriotic, and reversing it is a good rule of thumb for determining what is actually patriotic. So if the Vice President thinks that paying higher taxes is patriotic, we can logically assume that paying lower taxes is actually patriotic. Ergo, paying no taxes is Super Duper Patriotic™. This puts Timothy Geithner in an exclusive class of Super Duper Patriotic™ Americans.

To be fair, I do have one little beef with Geithner. He paid two of the four years worth of taxes he refused to pay, and that makes me feel a little sour about his leadership abilities. That’s OK. It was merely a moment of weakness. I understand that he is only human, unlike Obama, and therefore flawed, unlike Obama. However, I can still respect the man, because he managed to weasel his way into getting reimbursed for the taxes he refused to pay.

I salute Timothy Geithner, and I salute President Obama on his choice for Secretary of the Treasury.

Vic W has a poll asking whether tax cheat Timothy Geithner should be US Treasury Secretary. The poll is in the sidebar. I’m sure he would appreciate if you clicked through and took the poll.