I think it's probably a bad idea to confirm as Commerce Secretary someone who failed to pay some taxes. Yeah, yeah, I know it's a mistake anyone could make, and I endorse no jail time for the guy, and I wouldn't even mind if we didn't fine him--just made him pay the back taxes (which he has). But seriously, he wants to be Commerce Secretary.
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Treasury Secretary, actually. And that's the department in charge of taxes. Perhaps he will make the tax code easier?
In truth, I agree with everything Matt said. It need not be punishable, but for appearance sake I'd be happy with disqualifying him.
Gah, sorry, I knew it was Treasury--where the IRS is under its purview.
Seriously -- why?
If you agree that the Treasury department has suddenly become much more important given the financial apocalypse, and the consensus is that this dude has impeccable professional qualifications for the post, it makes no sense to disqualify him for what is by all accounts some careless mistakes made several years ago. NOBODY is alleging deliberate fraud or evasion. Yes, it was an error not to pay all the taxes. Yes, it's kind of stupid for a man with that sort of complex tax situation to try to do his own taxes. But the nation needs someone who has this sort of expertise, and if he has the skills for the job in a time of crisis it seems very short-sighted to veto him over what it in the end mot much more than a nanny problem.
This is a lighter subject, that's for sure, but...
As Kyle said, it's just a bad idea. We pay our taxes in this country on essentially a volunteer basis. There are appearances to keep, and they're actually important.
I don't think it's a good idea for the Secretary of Labor to have had nanny problems either.
@Shadow:
You know, if he was uniquely qualified for the position, you could make a case that his disqualification would be awful, but I think you could have found a handful of people out there who were as qualified as him and who didn't have mistakes in their past that tied directly to the position.
Sometimes you make an innocent mistake and it can come back and bite you. I'd have no problem with that. As it stands, the point is pretty moot now, and all will soon be forgotten.
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