By now you've probably read former Senator Tom Daschle has withdrawn his name to be the HHS Secretary in the Obama Administration. Here are some of my thoughts on this.

So much for a stringent vetting process being put in place.

What's going on? This tax reporting problem is not unique to either party.

Is this a case of a deliberate fabrication or of oversight? Could it be possible to make so much money you can't keep track of it all? I can't say I've ever had that problem.

I heard one commentator say this might lead to Republicans (in supposed show of sympathy) saying the reason this happens is the tax code is too complex and needs to be simplified.

More likely, what this shows is how badly the IRS has been gutted and unable to do the volume of audits and checks they should. I read an article a month or so ago saying the IRS had been diverted from audits and checks by the demands of putting out the stimulus packages. The gutting of the IRS and its inability to go after tax cheats is available in David Cay Johnston's Perfectly Legal. 

That then leads to the thought of wondering how much revenue is going uncollected that should be collected and how much that lack of collection is leading to our record deficits and debt. How much of our problem could be solved by a modest investment in hiring additional people for the IRS' efforts? There's an old saying I learned from a General as a Lieutenant. "The organization does well those things the boss checks." Could apply to tax collection, too.

Finally, how many intelligent, capable and forward thinking people who might be able to help us solve our national problems are not stepping forward to help for fear of vilification over some irregularity in their tax filings, no matter how inadvertent?