Rand Paul

So this internet meme has been making its rounds the last few days, so, I decided to look into it.  Now if you are of a similar mindset to my own, you instantly say, sounds legit, might not be, but more than likely it is.  So, I see it, figure its true, but wanting to do a bit of research on it, only to confirm that it is true.  And not just from "Liberal Sources."

So, to start with, several years ago the Senate attempted to amend a 1996 treaty with Switzerland, which would make it "harder" for the Swiss to refuse IRS inquiries about potential hidden accounts.  Mr. Paul for his part says that it infringes on the Fourth Amendment protections from unreasonable searches and seizures. 

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Just so we all know what we are looking at.  Now there is a catch to this protection, and that is probable cause.  There are others, but this one seems to apply most in this particular instance.  See, the treaty was renegotiated between Switzerland and the United States, because one of their banks plead guilty to facilitating tax evasion, and this renegotiation was to allow banks there to produce records without facing more penalties from their own.  So, the bank said they were guilty, but wanted protections from its own, to provide a list of over 4000 people who were in violation of the law here.  Basically, the Fourth Amendment does not apply in this case.  Sure you as a person have a right to be secure in your papers, and such, but the bank itself is willing to hand over its records.

Paul is blocking that.  Now, he is actually going further than that.  His goal, repeal the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.  Doing this would further skew the income inequality issues we already face more.  This is because people who have the ability to shift money everywhere else but here, can currently run the risk of not disclosing they have money offshore, therefore it remains untaxed, and it can be brought back without being taxed. 

So what does Paul want?  We really don't know, he has never really said.  Sound familiar, it should, we have solutions, but we won't tell you.  He has an idea, but he isn't talking, right now anyway.  Even so, while he is first in line screaming about the national debt being so high, he is also screaming lower taxes, and don't go after people who outright violate the tax laws of this nation.  His actions are an attempt to make the IRS appear unable to properly enforce the tax code, and makes demands for cuts seem more appropriate.  But first, before we kill the IRS, before we lower taxes for the wealthiest, lets first ensure that people are actually paying their taxes, and lets see what comes of that.