The IRS’ Bogus “Washington Monument Strategy”

The IRS is employing scare tactics in their latest gambit to increase its taxpayer-funded budget. IRS Commissioner John Koskinen has threatened delayed refunds, long call wait times, the specter of identity theft, and now, no-show days for IRS employees.

This is an old beltway bureaucrat trick. Popularly known as the “Washington Monument Strategy”, it involves bureaucracies weathering budget cuts by making changes in the most painful and transparent way. It harkens back to an old story about the National Park Service complying with a small budget cut by shutting down public tours of the Washington Monument.

“Koskinen is telling the world that he’s not competent and capable enough to manage the IRS with the budget that Congress gave him,” said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. “He should apologize for taking a job he’s not ready for and step down and be replaced by somebody capable. 

The IRS itself was caught wasting time and effort running political interference for President Obama’s re-election campaign by attacking tea party organizations and others who disagreed with the President.  They were doing that rather than managing the IRS. There’s a long list of people who should have been fired for playing politics at the IRS. That will provide some of the savings right there.”