This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
It is interesting that when the IRS slows up the approval process for some groups seeking tax-exempt status that members of Congress want people put in jail and demand more oversight.
But when the too-big-to-fail banks (which are still too big to fail) almost destroy our country's economy because of lack of regulation and oversight, the politicians have a lot of bark but no bite.
We still have not seen any of the individuals who profited from the bank collapse and bailout held accountable, and I'm almost sure someone running one of those banks should have gone to jail over what happened. I guess too big to fail means too big to go to jail.
The one striking difference in the two cases is that the IRS can't make political contributions or speeches, so they're an easy target for politicians.
Wouldn't it be nice if the politicians would go after everyone who breaks the rules and laws with the same intensity they are going after the IRS? But then the politicians don't have anything to lose in this fight, do they?
Brad Hutchings
Sandy