Is Inouye Unethical?
Jul 2, 2009 Political
Democratic Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii owns shares of Central Pacific bank worth between $350,000 and $700,000 which is about two thirds of his reported assets. The bank was in trouble and had applied for government assistance. The bank was not a likely candidate for assistance.
Inouye had an aide make a phone call to inquire about the bank’s application and bam, it is now set to receive $135 million dollars.
It is not uncommon for politicians to try to help the banks in their states. Even though there are rules they routinely break them or make exceptions in order to assist banks from their states. Hell, it isn’t their money.
It is also true that even if Inouye asked for the application to be approved that he did not break ethics laws the Senate establishes for itself. Of course, the rules they have are designed to allow them to be unethical.
But the fact that he has money invested in the bank gives the appearance that he used his political position and influence in order to personally benefit from an action that would not be available to the average citizen. Even if he only inquired, the fact that he personally benefits from the action is suspect.
It gives the appearance of impropriety and appearance is often the truth.
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Swiss To Punish US?
Feb 22, 2009 Political
The right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) wants to punish the US for the pressure it put on the country’s biggest bank, UBS, resulting in the release of thousands of names of American clients who are hiding their money to avoid taxes. The SVP wants the country to refuse residents of Gitmo, something it has stated it might be willing to help with. The party also wants Switzerland to reconsider representing the US in countries where it has no diplomatic representation.
I can understand the party’s position but the reality is UBS was helping Americans break the tax laws. As far as what Switzerland does, that is their business.
What I want to know is who is on that list. I want to see the list of tax cheats made public so the rest of us who have been footing the bills can see who has been avoiding what the rest of us are forced to comply with. I think that if any elected officials are on that list then they must resign their positions immediately.
People on that list must also be forced to pay taxes with interest and penalties. They cannot get a Rangel, Daschle or Geithner deal where they only have to pay the taxes owed.
The government worked hard to get the names. The names cannot be hushed up. They must be made public.
Source:
al Reuters
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Tags: bank, svp, swiss, tax cheats, ubs