Letters: The attorney general has sweeping powers. Labrador is abusing his | Opinion
It’s common for politicians to criticize the heavy hand of government. It’s not surprising because that’s what politicians do. What is surprising is when the most vociferous critics of government assume the reins of power and become belligerent abusers of their authority.
A case in point is Attorney General Raúl Labrador and his crusade against school districts and nonprofits receiving federal childcare grants. Labrador launched an investigation, demanding quantities of records under tight time-frames, a request that will divert these organizations from their mission of working with kids.
What’s the justification? Labrador fears the grants, targeted to 5-13 year-olds, may have been misspent. Perhaps — gasp! — he’ll find some of those helped by these programs were 4½ years old. This must be a major problem because Labrador is wasting no time or effort to get to the bottom of it. Let’s not forget that two AG opinions — one issued by the prior AG’s office and one by Labrador’s office itself — said this use of the federal funds was lawful.
The Attorney General’s office is an important one and is vested with extensive investigatory powers. It’s deplorable when those powers are misdirected and misused.
William Rice, Boise
Tax policy design matters
Buried in the pandemic’s “American Rescue Plan”: a new tax rule requiring online payment processors to report to the IRS as little as $600 paid to any/all taxpayers. (This is “taxing the rich?”)
The absurd impact is the massive tax preparation burden inflicted on society. The reported income triggers a legal right to be reduced by all costs of making that income. But recognizing these reductions requires 1040 Schedules C and E (home office rental), with multiple form 4562’s and mind-numbing depreciation rules for computers and offices. All dumped on people receiving as little as $600. Do this or the government takes more of your money than entitled to.
Compare this to handling of “itemized deductions”. Taxpayers are freed (of the far less hostile burden) of listing/proving each and every qualified deduction (1040 schedule A) by choosing a simpler “standard deduction”, giving $12950 to $27300 in “free” untaxed income and no Schedule A headache. The vast majority choose “standard deduction”. But, if forced to itemize, most would not have anywhere near the ‘standard’ amount allowed. Yet government ignores these details and summarily awards collectively massive untaxed income, all to “simplify taxes”.
But now, for $600 you’ll go thru complexity hell.
Jon Bolt, Boise
Still backing Trump’s abuse
It is incredible that an individual has been successful, especially running for president of the United States, after bragging about kissing beautiful women and grabbing them by their genitals, and when confronted, explaining the talk away as just locker talk. The same individual has been accused of sexual assault including rape.
Of course, a person is innocent until proven guilty. What is not innocent, is debased talk about women and no accountability for that talk.
What is also incredible are those men and even more incredible those women who manage to look the other way and are actually afraid and seemingly paralyzed when it comes to addressing this type of crass, crude, behavior. These same men and women who profess a love of family and Christian values have lost their voice in condemning or at the very least expressing disgust for such vile talk and behavior.
Mary Feeny, Boise
Raise the debt ceiling now
I urge Sen. Mike Crapo, Sen. Jim Risch and Rep. Mike Simpson to convince Congress to raise the debt ceiling.
I urge my elected officials to speak out against MAGA radicals holding our economy and livelihood hostage. They need to urge them to pass the debt ceiling as Republicans did multiple times during the Trump presidency.
We must return to sanity and stand up and stop the MAGA games that would torpedo our economy and civic life.
Samuel Paden, Garden City