In an interesting turn of events, even the mainstream media can't help but report on the most recent blemish on Barack Obama's glorified pending office.Timothy Geithner, Obama's pick to run the Treasury Department appears to have some difficulty keeping his own finances on the up and up. According to MSNBC, Geithner neglected to pay $34 thousand in taxes between 2001 and 2004.
Obama announced his choice for Geithner's position in November, but had investigated and discovered the issue. The issue was disclosed to senators on Dec. 5, however the problem is being chalked up to an unintentional error.
Not surprisingly, supporters of Geithner insist the mistake is common. however, some tax experts disagree.
Reports from MSNBC state that, "Tom Ochsenschlager, vice president of tax for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, said it would be difficult for someone preparing a tax return for a self-employed person to skip the Social Security and Medicare tax lines."
Additionally, Geithner is being question about his housekeeper who he neglected to get an I-9 form from which verifies the legality of an immigrant employee to legally work in the U.S.
Yet again, Geithner claims not to have known that the housekeeper he employed in 2004 and 2005 didn't have the proper documentation. All things considered, perhaps he should've hired an American citizen. Following complaints of jobs being shipped overseas, his decision in hiring an illegal immigrant is particularly unsettling.
Certainly, Obama was bound to run into a few glitches in picking his cabinet. Finding honest and upstanding politicians to work with is a tall order for any president.
The irony of this particular misstep is that the man appointed to run the Treasury Department struggles to run his own household in accordance with the law.
It may be wise for Geithner to take a page from New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson's book and withdraw his name. With the amount of financial issues currently facing our country, hiring Geithner to run the Treasury Department would be like hiring Michael Jackson to run a daycare. Bad idea.
