Washington Post Fact Checker Glenn Kessler and his colleagues are sick and tired of the GOP narrative that’s taken hold about the Inflation Reduction Act climate and health care and tax bill and its allocation of $80 billion in taxpayers’ money to the IRS for, among other things, hiring an additional 87,000 personnel.
My colleague @MariannaReports has a good report about how the GOP falsehood of "87,000 armed IRS agents" in Biden's bill is gaining traction despite it being totally wrong. …. https://t.co/WRkSqdMmYg
— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) August 18, 2022
Ah.
You knew the "why tens of thousands of additional IRS agents will actually be GOOD for you" media takes were on the way. https://t.co/fZEpLCo4D8
— Doug Powers (@ThePowersThatBe) August 18, 2022
Never mind that the IRS literally had a posting looking for a few thousand good men and women who’d be willing to carry firearms and use deadly force if necessary. The posting disappeared after people found out about it and apparently that’s good enough for Glenn Kessler, and for Marianna Sotomayor, who wrote the piece Kessler’s pimping today:
A job listing on the IRS website weeks before the legislation became law noted that applicants should be ready to “Carry a firearm and be willing to use deadly force, if necessary,” sparking Republicans to claim federal agents would soon be barreling into people’s homes.
The job listing has since been updated to remove that line, but it has not stopped Republicans from repeating it.
“Are they going to have a strike force that goes in with AK-15s already loaded, ready to shoot some small-business person in Iowa?” Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) inquired on “Fox & Friends” last week.
Recommended
While Republican members have stretched the truth about what the funding would do, the talking points are unlikely to go away.
And there’s nothing Marianna and Glenn and the mainstream media and the Democratic Party would love more than for the talking points to go away.
I had fact checked this last week, as had other fact checkers. The bill calls for 87,000 employees over ten years, many of whom will replace the 50,000 retiring in five years. Net increase in IRS staff: 25 percent, still below what it once had been…. https://t.co/i1YbbnBzCv
— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) August 18, 2022
Glenn seems to think we should take him at his word that the GOP is just trying to scare us even though we have nothing to worry about.
The GOP is preying on people's fears of an audit — which is practically nil (and 80 percent of which are just an exchange of letters). The stated goal is crack down on well-heeled tax cheats, not ordinary Americans, to close a tax gap estimated at $381 billion a year.
— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) August 18, 2022
Ordinary Americans practically never get audited! And even if they do, it’s to close a tax gap, so it’s all for the best, if you really think about it.
"Well if they said so…" https://t.co/MgqUYjd4OX pic.twitter.com/9TjESQk9SD
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) August 18, 2022
In which Glenn Kessler literally uses a govt talking point in an attempt to "fact check" conservatives: "The stated goal is crack down on well-heeled tax cheats, not ordinary Americans, to close a tax gap estimated at $381 billion a year." https://t.co/oq7cjhlsqp
— Sister Toldjah 🌻 (@sistertoldjah) August 18, 2022
Oh thank God. I was kinda worried about Biden’s newly militarized IRS but journos say we’re fine guys. https://t.co/pxolaNF5tR
— The Dank Knight 🦇 (@capeandcowell) August 18, 2022
Glenn Kessler isn’t worried about the IRS being weaponized, so why should we be?
Thank you for accurately reciting the Stated Goal of the government, Fourth Estate. https://t.co/Y1IoO8tkwG
— NeverTweet (@LOLNeverTweet) August 18, 2022
It’s already obnoxious and insulting to be lied to by the government. But for the ostensible Guardians of Truth in the media to push those lies, too? It’s just disgusting. Shameful.
And sadly all too predictable.
Herr Kessler at it again lying to the people https://t.co/4s06tpKnTo
— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) August 18, 2022
All in a day’s work for the Washington Post Fact Checker.
Apparently we have enough IRS agents to accurately estimate the mythical "tax gap" but not enough to close it. Seems strange, no? If you've done the work necessary to capture an estimate of illegal tax evasion, you have enough agents… https://t.co/fnrtsUSvAP
— Phil (@RealPhillyP) August 18, 2022
Hey @GlennKesslerWP look, it's the Washington Post's bill analysis from August 9th:
"That funding includes plans to increase IRS staff by nearly 87,000 full-time employees over that same time period."https://t.co/SLc1cYDUHz pic.twitter.com/zQYMeGrmvC
— Mike Palicz (@Mike_Palicz) August 18, 2022
IRS has a 100% enforcement mindset.
It should. That's the point of the agency.
Any new hire supports that mission–this money isn't for hiring janitors.
And it's a myth that the funding pays to replace retiring employees — that's covered by current appropriations. https://t.co/tf8jaTjiXa
— J.P. Freire (@JPFreire) August 18, 2022
Glenn Kessler? Peddling myths? Unpossible!
Glenn is shilling for Dems again & ignoring every non partisan analysis which confirms the middle class will be target of increased audits.
The JCTC says 78-90 percent of the money raised from under-reported income would likely come from those making less than $200,000 a year. https://t.co/zZqxqZOqlN
— Michael McAdams (@M_McAdams) August 18, 2022
"FOX has confirmed that the Congressional Budget Office informed lawmakers that audits of taxpayers making under $400,000 accounts for about $20 billion in revenue for the Inflation Reduction Act."https://t.co/BAR1LnwOjR
— Michael McAdams (@M_McAdams) August 18, 2022
— Michael McAdams (@M_McAdams) August 18, 2022
Glenn Kessler’s a fact-checker. He can’t be bothered with inconvenient truths! Ain’t nobody got time for that!
Let me ask you this Glenn, are you aware of who gets audited *now*? That seems like important context to include.
— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) August 18, 2022
Of course he’s aware. He just couldn’t care less. Let them eat cake! Until the IRS shows up at their door and rips it out of their mouths. As long as they leave Glenn Kessler alone, he’s feeling pretty OK about all this.
it is legit scary to receive a letter from the irs? how out of touch are you? https://t.co/bwj8kBf3ZE
— kaitlin, by definition, a woman (@thefactualprep) August 18, 2022
That’s a rhetorical question, of course.
"Preying on Peoples fears"
Louis Lerner pic.twitter.com/HIvv9gdLxR
— Coyote Clay (@Coyote_Clay) August 18, 2022
Glenn thinks we were born yesterday.
Oh yes, because the government famously always sticks to their "stated goals."
If the AP is American Pravda, Washington Post is Россия-1. #StateMedia https://t.co/QnKcY53HdN
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) August 18, 2022
And they wonder why Americans don’t trust the media anymore? 🤔 https://t.co/TVEdEciCr2
— Linsdesign (@Linsdesign21) August 18, 2022
No big mystery there.
Is it professionally embarrassing for you to be shilling for the administration like this?
— Andrew Wagner (@andrewwagner) August 18, 2022
He’s made a lot of money doing it. Wouldn’t it be ironic if the IRS paid him a visit to talk about that?
***
Related:
***
Join the conversation as a VIP Member