Wednesday, September 16, 2009

The ACORN debacle

OK, so everyone is going crazy about the undercover videos about ACORN, and rightfully so. But how surprised should we really be?

If you haven't seen the videos, I am posting one of them here. View the rest at www.biggovernment.com.



I am not going to talk about this issue like everyone else is, trying to tie Obama and ACORN together. If conservatives get their way, ACORN will die a quick death, and Obama's image will be tarnished by association. Fine, then what? I have a feeling a new organization would be created with the same mission and tactics, and receive funding from the taxpayers just like ACORN has.

Are we really surprised that a community organization has discovered a way to milk government funds to help them sustain themselves? I'm sure in their eyes, they are providing jobs to individuals that would otherwise be unemployed, while at the same time helping their "cause." And what is their cause? To lobby issues such as the minimum wage, affordable housing, and school funding. Whether one agrees with these issues or not, does anyone have a problem with the government supporting organizations that lobby for any issue? Let me put it another way. If I am a Senator that believes the minimum wage should be $20/hour, and ACORN will help me convince the people this should be so, wouldn't I vote for ACORN funding to help push my initiative forward? It seems very convoluted to me.

Another point that jumped out at me while watching these videos is how much the ACORN people were working the tax code. Anybody who knows me knows I am a proponent of the Fair Tax (a national consumption tax), a simplified method of taxation that would ELIMINATE this type of manipulation of the tax system. Think about it, even in the ficticious scenario presented in the videos, the prostitute, pimp, and illegal immigrants would be paying taxes. Now that is tax reform I can get behind!

In the interest of fairness, here is the link to ACORN's response to all this. A little flimsy if you ask me, but you be the judge.

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