http://www.truthout.org/ej-dionne-jr-in-praise-irs58589On or about April 15, the Web and the commentary pages overflow with assaults on the IRS that cast its employees as jackbooted thugs, to use an old phrase, and our tax system as a form of oppression comparable to the exertions of the worst Russian czars and the most fiendish modern totalitarian dictators.
We should call this propaganda what it is: a sweeping falsehood that libels the work of committed federal employees such as Hunter.
Who are the men and women of the IRS? They are the people who collect the revenue that allows the government to finance our troops who are in harm's way, help our wounded warriors, pay grandma's Medicare bills, cover the costs of keeping our food and drugs safe, and do so many of the other things the vast majority of us want our government to accomplish.
Yes, if you support our troops, you have to support the work of the Internal Revenue Service.
Champions of government's core functions have been far too timid in taking on the slanders directed against the IRS. When right-wingers tell IRS horror stories, progressive politicians are typically defensive: Well, sure, let's correct those abuses, but ... mumble, mumble, mumble.
It's time to tell the truth: that our tax system allows enormous leeway for innocent mistakes, that IRS agents often help hard-pressed taxpayers to work out reasonable ways of meeting their obligations, and that our system provides, as it should, many avenues through which taxpayers can exercise their due-process rights.
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