Should the ACLU Endorse the FairTax?
In another post about the REAL-ID driver's license plan being backed by the Department of Homeland Security, I mentioned that the Social Security card is not a form of ID; that it's purpose is to tie the wage-earner to his taxes with the IRS.
The American Civil Liberties Union has fiercely objected to the effort, (the REAL ID - ed.) particularly the sharing of personal data among government agencies. The DHS and other officials say the only way to make sure an ID is safe is to check it against secure government data; critics like the ACLU say that creates a system that is more likely to be infiltrated and have its personal data pilfered.
If the ACLU objects to the sharing of information between agencies, I would think that they would behind any effort to rid the American public of the IRS. It's not so much that the IRS shares information, but that it COULD be shared, or hacked into, and the information about tax payers distributed to unauthorized people. I might be stretching things a bit, but laptops with taxpayer information have been stolen, lost, and misplaced over the last few years. It's been in the news, so I know it happens. Whether hackers can get into the IRS, I don't know, but even with the firewalls and safeguards the IRS must have guarding their information, I'm sure hackers have at least tried, and maybe someday it will happen.
I wonder if the ACLU is familiar with the FairTax which would eliminate the IRS. The only need for any kind of a tax number would be a bank account number for the monthly rebate to be deposited into. hmmmm.....
The American Civil Liberties Union has fiercely objected to the effort, (the REAL ID - ed.) particularly the sharing of personal data among government agencies. The DHS and other officials say the only way to make sure an ID is safe is to check it against secure government data; critics like the ACLU say that creates a system that is more likely to be infiltrated and have its personal data pilfered.
If the ACLU objects to the sharing of information between agencies, I would think that they would behind any effort to rid the American public of the IRS. It's not so much that the IRS shares information, but that it COULD be shared, or hacked into, and the information about tax payers distributed to unauthorized people. I might be stretching things a bit, but laptops with taxpayer information have been stolen, lost, and misplaced over the last few years. It's been in the news, so I know it happens. Whether hackers can get into the IRS, I don't know, but even with the firewalls and safeguards the IRS must have guarding their information, I'm sure hackers have at least tried, and maybe someday it will happen.
I wonder if the ACLU is familiar with the FairTax which would eliminate the IRS. The only need for any kind of a tax number would be a bank account number for the monthly rebate to be deposited into. hmmmm.....
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