IRS extravagance: What difference at this point does it make?

I’ve been fighting – what seems to be an ever-long battle – to limit the scope of the federal government to Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution. The state and commonwealth governments have the power – as determined by their state legislatures – to provide funding and support for all sorts of programs if the people want it. The problem with the federal government having this power is they are so far removed from the people, this kind of crap happens all the time.

In 2008, the IRS held a three day event and it cost $2.4 million. More from The Hill.

The IRS held a 2008 conference in Atlanta that included an open bar, elaborate hors d’oeuvres and a video of agency employees dressed as Olympic athletes with makeshift torches.

Two people who attended the three-day event put on by IRS’s Office of Chief Counsel described it as “very lavish” and “over the top.” The agency said Tuesday it cost taxpayers about $2.4 million.

The “grand finale” of the conference, held during President George W. Bush’s administration, was an awards dinner at the Georgia Aquarium catered by celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck, according to an IRS document provided to The Hill.

I know some of you out there – even a few of my friends – will scream out “yeah, BUSH did it!” Screw that, you don’t get the point. This goes on with every administration since the New Deal Era. As I’ve pointed out in my Symptom of the Disease series, this extravagance is a direct result of the states handing over more and more power to the federal government. They have become dependent on federal dollars for everything from new brick sidewalks to new fire trucks to new school buildings to health care funding to more cops on the streets.

Of course, the IRS is telling you “it’s all behind us now…”

In an official statement, the IRS said that “the size and details of [the] 2008 conference reflect a different era at the IRS. While there were legitimate reasons for holding the meeting, a number of the expenses associated with it would not occur today under our tough new guidelines.”

Different era my foot. This happens every day, in every office at the federal level. If Hillary Clinton does run for president and she was asked about all of this, she would simply ask in return … What difference at this point does it make? It was sooooo long ago….