Apr 15, 2013
Yes, it's "Tax Day," which apparently still matters to people who
don't just take care of business a little earlier. To "celebrate,"
we read Liz Day's account of "How the Maker of TurboTax Fought
Free, Simple Tax Filing." It not only made appropriate note of Tax
Day, but connected us to last week's reading about the "rentier"
class. TurboTax maker Intuit apparently spent some $11 million+
fighting to keep tax filing complicated so that millions more would
be spent by the rest of us, buying their software to make it
easier. Armando called in for Greg Dworkin, who was out today, with
a grab bag of items. For one thing, he reminded us that today's
Jackie Robinson Day, as well. He also noted Gallup's annual polling
asking if people thought their tax bills were "fair." That is, he
noted that it's kind of dumb. We also lingered for a bit on the NYT
headline, "Hedge Fund Titans' Pay Stretching to 10 Figures," noted
the continuing lack of action on Guantanamo detainees, and finally
wound up with Missouri's move to certify teachers to carry weapons
in the classroom, even as the story broke of the arrest of a St.
Louis area gun instructor who was faking his students'
qualifications. But hey, what could go wrong? Besides, the answer
to gun-related fraud, the logic tells us, is more fraud.