Back taxes are the real problem

To the editor:

The article, "Congress considers insider trading rules" (Jan. 30, page A7), indicates Congress will address the issue of "insider trading" by members of Congress.

A matter in need of more attention than insider trading is how many federal employees owe tax money.

President Barack Obama has preached that all Americans should pay their fair share in taxes, but a government report filed by the Internal Revenue Service found that more than 279,000 federal employees and retirees owed $3.4 billion in back income taxes.

This data showed 467 employees of the House of Representatives owed more than $8.5 million. In the Senate, 217 employees owed $2.13 million.

Obama’s staff was not immune, either, with 36 people in Obama’s administration owing $833,970 in back taxes.

Obama used part of his State of the Union Address to promote economic fairness, arguing for changes in the tax code that would create a minimum tax rate of 30 percent on anyone making more than $1 million.

If Obama wants people to pay their "fair share," perhaps he should start with his own staff. But what can you expect when the Secretary of the Treasury was appointed to his position and had not paid back taxes.?

If Obama was truly interested in increasing revenue and reducing the deficit, the first order of business should be to demand payment of delinquent taxes by any employee of the federal government and if not paid, they should be terminated from their positions.

Back when he was elected in 2008, oI have to wonder how many people would have voted for him if they knew at the end of three years he would have 279,000 government employees delinquent on their taxes or if the deficit was greater than from George Washington through George W. Bush.

When he was running for office in 2008, he criticized Bush for his deficit and even said it was unpatriotic to leave such debt to the American people. And he further stated if he had not gotten unemployment under control, he would be a one-term president. Let’s not let him forget his promises. One term has been more than enough.