CNN host Jake Tapper gave GOP Congressman Mike Johnson (LA) a lesson in basic economics and the need for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and wound up making the Republican look like a clueless dolt Tuesday on the network.
The bone of contention was legislation proposed by House Republicans that would not allow the IRS to fill 87,000 open jobs and would also increase the federal deficit.
Tapper began by noting:
“You supported the House bill we just discussed. It would rescind billions of dollars to the IRS. You tweeted, you will vote to ‘stop the 87,000 IRS agents from going after families’. That’s not true. It would be employees, not agents. The Congressional Budget Office says that your bill to get rid of those IRS employees is going to add to the deficit.”
Johnson replied:
“Only in the Bizarro World of Washington would you get an estimate that not spending the money is going to add to the deficit.”
Tapper pushed back:
“Because of enforcement more people who are avoiding paying their taxes. About ten years ago, if you made more than $10 million a year, one out of five people like that would be audited. Now it’s down to 3.6 percent. The wealthy people are getting away with not paying their taxes. Corporations too.”
Rather than admit Tapper was correct, Johnson decided to lie:
“The intent of hiring all of these new agents would have the effect of going after hard-working families and small businesses. That is not a Republican talking point. That comes from the Joint Committee on Taxation. When the Joint Committee on Taxation publishes something, it’s given a lot of weight. They’re nonpartisan.”
That’s when Tapper hit back by reminding the congressman:
“But I quoted the CBO, the CBO is nonpartisan too!”
Johnson:
“The CBO doesn’t have a lot of credibility right now. Their analysis is wildly inaccurate in a lot of ways and they don’t always do appropriate analysis.”
Tapper then asked the most important question:
“Do you think there’s a problem in this country of wealthy individuals and companies not paying their fair share in taxes?”
The congressman responded:
“That’s been a problem, of course, but it’s — we’re not preventing that. The IRS has an important job to go after tax cheats, absolutely, and we support that. We want these things to be done properly.”
But for it to be done properly requires IRS employees to do the work of tracking down tax cheats. Congressman Johnson and other Republicans say they want to stop tax fraud, but then they turn around the try to hamstring the IRS. As usual, they’re just grandstanding and using bullshit instead of facts.
Here’s the video: