Thoughts for the Day, March 4, 2025: Cuts to the IRS benefit the big guys.

The IRS

DOGE has cut over 7,000 IRS workers since January 20, 2025. Some reports indicate DOGE and MUSK have their sights on cutting the current IRS workforce in half. Considering the IRS employs around 100,000 people, it would mean another 43,000 people could be cut.

Our federal tax collection system is mostly a volunteer process in which employers and the self-employed are expected to submit payroll and income tax payments on a regular basis throughout the year and then have them “trued-up” with the filing of an annual tax return by the individual.

The system works because most individuals do not want to be audited and suffer potential fines and penalties even though less than 1% of all returns are audited.

With less than 1% of all returns being audited, very little effort is put into auditing individual tax returns because the recovery is not worth the effort. Most individual audits are handled by mail. The real money is going after corporations and major employers on payroll taxes and taxable income.

Thus, the big beneficiary of a reduction in the IRS workforce will be people like Trump and Musk and their major contributors. Their risk of getting caught taking advantage of their interpretation of the tax codes will be reduced significantly. If they do get caught, the likelihood of the IRS having the legal expertise to take on the complicated returns of Trump, Musk, and major corporations is minimal at best.

The unintended consequences of a reduction of the IRS workforce will be more people taking advantage of the IRS’s lack of ability to audit tax returns. This will result in less tax collections further exacerbating the deficit.

This leads to my Question of the Day. Will DOGE consider less tax collection in their calculation of the savings they are creating? The answer is, not a chance.

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Speak up and speak out: More change in our foreign policy.

Today, President Trump announced that he was suspending all aid to Ukraine. The order affects more than $1 billion in arms and ammunition in the pipeline and on order. The directive will be in effect until President Trump determines that Ukraine had demonstrated a good-faith commitment to peace negotiations with Russia.

The immediate beneficiary of the move is Putin. If the suspension is lengthy, Putin can use the time to press for further territorial gains. Putin may decide to hold back from any cease-fire negotiations to end the war, figuring that any prolonged dispute between Mr. Trump and Mr. Zelensky will only strengthen his position on either the battlefield or if cease-fire talks begin.

The above leads to by Quote of the Day “The new administration is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations. This largely aligns with our vision.” – Dmitry Peskov, Press Secretary for Vladimir Putin on Sunday following the Zelensky/Trump meeting on Friday.

The quote of the day and the following are excerpts from Dan Rather and Team Steady’s blog today.

Let that sink in. A spokesman for a murderous dictator says that American and Russian visions now align.

Of all the things to worry about in a second Trump administration, a radical restructuring of U.S.–Russia relations at the expense of an 80-year alliance with the democracies of Europe seemed among the least likely.

But here we are.

In one week, Donald Trump has effectively scrapped decades of U.S. foreign policy and upended European geopolitics in the process. This leaves the United States and most of the rest of the free world more vulnerable than they have been since World War II.

A guiding force of U.S. foreign policy, including its policy toward Russia, has traditionally been to protect freedom and democracy, America’s founding principles. That through line has been usurped by Trump’s desire to cozy up to Russian president Vladimir Putin, who by any measure is a dictator.

After Trump and JD Vance’s stunning Oval Office sucker punch of Ukrainian president Volodomyr Zelenskyy on Friday, reaction in Moscow was euphoric for the Russians, sobering for us.

One Russian official praised Trump for his “pragmatic, rather than enemy-like approach,” according to The Washington Post.

If you are appalled, speak up and speak out. Call your members of congress and express your concern. I called and wrote mine today.

Please call your members of Congress today. The U.S. Capitol switchboard is 202-224-3121. Tell the operator where you’re from and the operator will connect you to your representatives and senators. I tested this out today. It is very simple. They will ask for the congress member you want to contact. If you do not know your congress members, they will ask for your zip code to determine your congress members. They will then switch you to that office.

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How about those Piston?

With their win on the road in Utah last night, the Pistons have won nine of their last ten games. They are within one game of securing fourth place in the conference which would mean home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Their record is 35-27 with twenty games remaining.

They have come a long way from the team last year that won only 14 games and had an NBA record tying 28 game losing streak.

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I am working on avoiding things that cause me stress.

I have taken a new approach to following Michigan basketball. Rather than watching or listening to the game, I have started following the game on ESPN game cast, which provides me with up-to-date information, but I miss the turnovers, the missed free throws and the defensive lapses. So far it is working. Who knows how long this will last?

I am taking the same approach to President Trump’s speech tonight. I will avoid the lies, the fifth-grade grammar, the self-promotion, the insults, the BS, and his attack on our democracy. If by chance, he says something that I am interested in; I will read about it on Wednesday.

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Quote of the Day: “The new administration is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations. This largely aligns with our vision.” – Dmitry Peskov, Press Secretary for Vladimir Putin on Sunday following the Zelensky/Trump meeting on Friday.

Orchid of the Day: We are going with the Piston again

Onion of the Day: European democracies. With the recent change in the U.S. foreign policy, the “Bear” is 100% your problem.

Lyrics of the Day: I saw the photograph. He blew his mind out in a car
He didn't notice that the lights had changed. A crowd of people stood and stared. They'd seen his face before. Nobody was really sure. If he was from the House of Lords.

If you think you know the answer, send me your answer in the comments section of the blog.

Answer to Lyrics of the Day for March 3, 2025: House of the Rising Sun, Eric Burden and the Animals.

“Question of the Day: Will DOGE consider less tax collection in their calculation of the savings they are creating?

Video of the Day: In case you missed it. It is worth your time.

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo 'Wicked' Performance at 97th Oscars (2025)

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