When Representative Gerald E. Connolly, Democrat of Virginia, tried to send a taxpayer-paid newsletter to his constituents this month, the Republican majority had a few edits first.
In a speech today to the National Association of Business Economists, Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill said: "Some suggest we send a rebate to taxpayers now and stop there.
As a result, Mr. O'Neill said, the administration is considering whether it can send all taxpayers a check later this year that would approximate the amount by which they had been over-withheld up until that point.
If they are not the same amount, the IRS will send a refund check to the taxpayer.
Imagine the approval rating for a politician who could legitimately promise to send a $300 check to every taxpayer every year without raising the deficit...simply by repealing three giveaways that have no economic rationale and were passed only to reward major politically connected SuperPAC contributors.
Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, plans to offer a proposal next week to send a rebate check to all taxpayers.
But President-elect Barack Obama can send a message to investors and taxpayers that he has their best interests at heart.
European officials caution that while it may still be a long shot, a move to force large, uninsured depositors to share the pain with Europe's taxpayers would send a powerful message to the market that risky financial conduct has consequences.
"I'm extremely proud of the men and women who prosecute these cases and in doing so, send a clear message to honest taxpayers that those who engage in this criminal conduct will be held accountable," Ciraolo said.
While the tax break cannot address all that ails our homeless pets and the agencies looking out for their interests, it is a relatively inexpensive and efficient way to send a strong message to California taxpayers: that never before has their compassion been more critical to improving the chances for animals who have done nothing wrong other than prove too expensive for their downtrodden owners.
"When FDR visited, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, his opponents started a rumor that he left his dog, Fala, on the Aleutian Islands and spent 20 million taxpayer dollars to send a destroyer to pick him up," Obama recounted.
