A while back I was reading an article about the Palin's taxes and declarations, and I noted that Governor Palin had taken per diem money from the State of Alaska to the tune of thousands of dollars for nights she had spent in her own home in Wasilla. Apparently there was some question of where her "tax home" was, but I haven't seen any information on this. Here are the questions, for all you accounting types:
1. Is it considered unethical in taxland to submit per diem expenses (and there were in the neighborhood of $17,000 of them) for time spent in one's own home? (We're speculating, of course, that we all have a home in Wasilla, Alaska, and a Governor's Mansion in Juneau.)
2. Has there been any follow-up on the matter? I haven't seen anything hit the fact-checkers yet, so I'm guessing this is so far under the radar that nobody's noticed. (And all right, the economy collapsing and hate rhetoric at public rallies does take precedence, but I'm still curious.
Here's the link reference, if anyone's interesting in further information.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/10/palins-taxes.html
Sarah Palin has been telling anyone who will listen that Barack Obama is "not like us." The Republican rallies are becoming increasingly venomous. Barack Obama's middle name--Hussein--is used as a slur, to prove his differentness, and to foster the idea that he somehow has ties to the Arab world, and by extension, terrorism. It's working. Audience members shout that he should be killed, that he is a terrorist. Even uniformed police officers, who should know better, fan the flames.
I became an Obama supporter during the primaries. It wasn't that he had extensive experience--though I was impressed by the people from whom he had sought advice--or that he had a crackerjack plan to offer. It was that he ran a clean, dignified campaign in spite of the provocation to do otherwise.
He focused on his vision, what he wanted to accomplish, and if he was light on details, at least the details he offered weren't designed to discredit his opponents through side issues. And while it won him my admiration, it cost him. The pundits said that he needed to "get tougher," that he could not win without resorting to dirty tricks. I hoped they were wrong.
