Jack Lew: I had no idea my money was even in the Cayman Islands

I point this out, not because I think that Lew’s erstwhile Cayman Island holdings in and of themselves should be a discrediting factor in his nomination to replace Tim Geithner as head of the Treasury Department; again, if politicians are looking for someone or something to blame for wealthy people looking to save more of their own money by moving it to offshore accounts, then maybe they should start with our ridiculously uncompetitive and bulky tax code. Quite blaming the symptoms, people, and try blaming the disease instead.

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I point this out, because of the spectacular showcase it provides into the mind-boggling moral hypocrisy being practiced by our oh-so-enlightened president. Apparently, Mitt Romney’s large financial portfolio, which included some offshore accounts, was an offense so ethically egregious as to disqualify him from presidential legitimacy — at least that’s certainly the way Team Obama told it.

Miraculously, however, President Obama somehow neglected to apply the same tax-related scruples in hand-selecting particular members of his second-term Cabinet. Like, oh, I don’t know — the one that directs the administration of the U.S. money supply and tax collection, or whatever.

The White House would never deign to display any sort of embarrassment about their moral laxity, of course, but somebody should at least highlight the blatant hypocrisy — and Senate Republicans took a moment to do so during Lew’s otherwise pretty drama-free confirmation hearing on Wednesday afternoon.

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He “didn’t know” that his money was being housed in the Cayman Islands? That’s odd; Team Obama didn’t let Mitt Romney get away with that one, no sir!

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Ed Morrissey 12:40 PM | November 21, 2024
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David Strom 11:20 AM | November 21, 2024
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