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| Finding fault ... |
VOICE writes, " You may have missed it, but the circus is in town.
The Notebook knows because we saw a circle of elephants, hooked together trunks to tails, each saying the one in front is leading the scandal parade.
Some news outlets made a huge deal out of comments from D.C. Auditor Deborah Nichols that her reports on growing tax refunds were ignored during the past few years.
Nichols noted that her reports went to the entire D.C. Council, but particularly the Committee on Finance and Revenue, headed by Ward 2 Council member Jack Evans.
We had a different take on it. If the auditor saw that property-tax refunds were out of whack, why didn't she or her office ask questions about it? Why didn't she raise hell? Why not investigate if there's something out of line?
One local veteran auditor agreed that the auditor's response was kind of like a firefighter pointing at a fire across the street, but not doing anything to put it out. "
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The various council members who were praising Nichols at last week's hearing might recommend that the auditor aggressively go after governmental flaws, not just highlight them in often-dense reports.
Property taxes in the District soared in the early 2000s. The city was awash in money. It's way too politically sensitive for anyone like chief financial officer Natwar Gandhi to say, but the scam that ripped off $30 million affected a small fraction of this tax glut. For someone to even suggest such a thing would yield criticism that he or she thinks $30 million doesn't matter. Of course it does.
The most informed predictions are that unless some new, damaging information is revealed, Gandhi will remain on the job at least while reforms begin.
That will keep Wall Street calm and give Gandhi a chance to repair his once-sterling reputation. Once the reforms start, Gandhi can then step away saying it's time for new blood in an office that is both his pride and, now, his deep sorrow.
¥ Silver lining? Ward 6 Council member Tommy Wells didn't miss a beat on making the most of the property-tax scandal.
Wells quickly pointed out that if you factor in the scandal, the city has been putting too much aside to cover real-property tax refunds. He wants that money diverted to youth development programs, about $4 million to $7 million next year.
"The scope and range of this fraud and theft is daunting, but just as the city is moving quickly to uncover what led to these shameful acts, the city also has a responsibility to move quickly to put these unused dollars to productive use for our youth," he said.
Free the Smithsonian. D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton has introduced legislation that could restructure the board of regents that runs the Smithsonian. About 70 percent of the Smithsonian's $1 billion budget comes from Congress.
Norton said the board -- made up of political appointees sent over by the House and Senate, the Supreme Court and the vice president's office -- doesn't have time to do private fundraising and other duties to help the grand but struggling institution.
Let's hope her bill gets some attention.
50-plus years of insight. Sam Smith has been a grand institution for 53 years, writing with pinprick precision about the foibles of generations of public officials in Progressive Review (online at prorev.com).
A recent gathering honored his work. We were in the midst of our move from Tenleytown to Southwest, so we asked Sam for a brief recount of what he said. Here's part of it:
"Yesterday Mark Plotkin started his interview with me on WTOP this way: 'How do you respond to those who say you're just outrageous, off the wall, beyond normal?'
"Here's part of what I told him: If you go back and read what I wrote 10, 20 or 30 years ago, it's hard to see what the problem was. The FBI, in a rare of moment of literary eloquence, labeled those who fought in the Spanish Civil War as 'premature anti-fascists.'
"In this town timing is everything.
"[Former U.S. Sen.] Phil Hart once described the Senate as a place that does things 20 years after it should have. I think I was like a bad comedian; I knew the punch lines, I just couldn't get the timing right. I came to think of myself not as a radical, but as a moderate of an era that had yet to come.
"In a nation ablaze with struggles and divisions, we are too often forced to choose between being a participant in the arson or a member of the volunteer fire department. But, as best as I can tell, my real impetus has not been so much duty, anger or virtue -- but a truly manic, grandiose and cockeyed optimism -- a child's dreams and an adult's faith pounding tide after tide on the rocks of reality, thinking that maybe this time I'll float off.
"[Activist] Saul Alinsky was once asked by a seminarian how he could retain his values as he made his way through the church. 'That's easy,' replied Alinsky. 'Just decide now whether you wish to be a cardinal or a priest.'
"Like many in this room, I have followed the latter route and don't regret it at all. Still, even freedom and rebellion require companionship, affection, support and love, and I thank you for blessing me with it. Thanks for your encouragement, your patience and your tolerance. And please keep 'em coming, cause I ain't through yet."
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Posted on Dec 02, 2007 14:23pm.
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