Democracy Now: "Geithner’s lapses were far more egregious than Daschle’s" (with audio and video)

"Investigative Duo Jim Steele and Don Barlett: Daschle Nomination Debacle Highlights Flawed US Tax System" (Democracy Now, with audio and video):

Despite problems with unpaid taxes, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner was confirmed last week, but Tom Daschle, President Obama’s nominee for Health and Human Services, had to withdraw his nomination for his own tax lapses. We speak to the Pulitzer-winning reporting team Jim Steele and Don Barlett on the breakdown of America’s tax system—and why they say Geithner’s lapses were far more egregious than Daschle’s.

President Obama continues to be plagued by the tax problems of several of his nominees to top posts in his administration and Republicans have seized on the issue as an attack line against the Democrats. Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House Republican whip, recently told a party retreat: “It’s easy for the other side to advocate for higher taxes. Because you know what? They don’t pay them.”

The series of nominees with tax problems started with Timothy Geithner. As treasury secretary, he now oversees the collection of taxes, but he failed to pay $34,000 dollars in taxes until he received the offer of a cabinet job. Then there was Tom Daschle, nominated for secretary of health and human services, even though he neglected to pay $128,000 dollars in taxes until he was nominated. And there was Nancy Killefer, chosen to be the White House chief performance officer–she failed to pay unemployment taxes for a household employee.

Daschle and Killefer withdrew their names from consideration on Tuesday after a firestorm in the media and on Capitol Hill. Geithner, on the other hand, was confirmed by the Senate last week.

Despite the fact that Geithner sailed through the confirmation process–while Daschle went up in flames–Geithner’s tax troubles were actually far more egregious. At least, that’s the argument my two next guests put forth in their latest article. Don Barlett and Jim Steele are contributing editors at Vanity Fair who have been writing about taxes for nearly four decades. They have won virtually every major national journalism award including two Pulitzer Prizes and two National Magazine Awards. Their latest article appears in TheDailyBeast.com, it’s called “Why Geithner Was Worse Than Daschle.” They are the authors of seven books, including “The Great American Tax Dodge, How Spiraling Fraud and Avoidance Are Killing Fairness, Destroying the Income Tax, and Costing You.” Don Barlett and Jim Steele join us from Philadelphia.

James Steele and Donald Barlett, Contributing editors at Vanity Fair who have been writing about taxes for nearly four decades. They have won virtually every major national journalism award, including two Pulitzer Prizes and two National Magazine Awards.

Their latest article for the Daily Beast is “Why Geithner Was Worse than Daschle.” They are the authors of seven books, including The Great American Tax Dodge: How Spiraling Fraud and Avoidance Are Killing Fairness, Destroying the Income Tax, and Costing You.

Barack Obama