2 years later, the Monolith Media Come Around To Corruption

I can't believe I'm finally seeing this in headlines...

Democrats mired in swamp they vowed to drain

First reported in the NY Post, and posted here, almost 2 years ago, Rep. Charles Rangel is his own swamp of corruption.

And the shocking part of this story - he's "temporarily" stepping down.

Does anyone even remember what Newt Gingrich was accused of?? Tom Delay??? No. Because it was so freakin' minor, that's why. And they were forced to step down. But when a senior Democrat fails to report $500,000 in income over a couple of decades, it's only a minor problem (let alone all of his other problems).

Now Rangel's list of sins has grown so long that no one can (any longer) honestly cover it up.

Why Rangel's Crimes Are So Bad

One of the most powerful Democrats in Congress continues to abuse his power, months after multiple scandals have been discovered.

I love this NY Post pic to the right - his taxpayer-provided Cadillac, picking him up at his luxury, yet rent-controlled apartment.

The NY Post reports that Harlem Rep. Charles Rangel is still using a rent-controlled apartment as campaign headquarters, which is against the rules.

Months ago, the day after the news came out about his 4 rent-controlled apartments, Rangel raised nearly $1.3 million in contributions.

Now, PublicSchoolReview.com lists Harlem's median household income at about $15,000.

This is why this man is so repugnant. He's one of the most powerful politicians in terms of being able to craft new tax laws. He can raise millions with barely an effort, which makes him a perma-incumbent. And his district comprises constituents that are way below the poverty level, yet he chooses to take 4 apartments that could have gone to families less fortunate than him, and he gets all 4 of them WAY below market value. 3 of them have been turned into one big flat, and 1 is still campaign headquarters.

I hope the NY Post investigates WHY he's getting this break in rent. Could it be that the landlord gets anything in return for that? No, couldn't be...

Thomas Sowell neatly documents all of the problems with rent control in his books. And Rangel personifies it in the most disgusting and imperious way: when rent control is present, people buy more than they need. It's that simple, and it occurs every time you have rent control. Rent control allows Fat Cats like Rangel to use 4 times more than they would've otherwise, depriving other consumers of that resource (in this case, real estate).

Read more on all of Rangels recent scandals.

More at The Pantheon Journal.

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Rangel: Fat Cats Get Perks, Write Laws They Won't Obey

Charlie Rangel - poster boy for the Democrat's "most ethical congress in history". Remember the mantra of Nancy Pelosi - the "culture of corruption" charge against the Republicans, which helped the Dems take back the majority of Congress 2 years ago?

Now, Pelosi will not remove Rangel from his Chairman position on the Ways and Means committee.

The Ways and Means committee, the most powerful in congress, is in charge of writing pretty little laws like "imputed income". I have a personal example - did you know that you get taxed for having life insurance? Somehow, those wonderful lawmakers think that you are getting "imputed income" if your employer allows you to buy more life insurance through them, more then their standard coverage. That's right, you still have to pay for it, as I do. It's just that the IRS will TAX YOU ON THIS. Let me get this straight - I pay for extra life insurance in case I die, and receive no income from it right now (in fact, I'm out money), but the government taxes me on it.

Back to today's story, Rangel has had his Mercedes parked for free in a government parking spot - it's been sitting there apparently in a non-op condition (I bet that means he doesn't even have to pay registration fees!). The problem is this parking spot is a free perk, and therefore imputed income of $100 a month. But Rangel hasn't paid taxes on it.

Just to recap - the most powerful lawmaker in terms of writing tax laws does not follow the laws he keeps on the books. Remember, when liberals want to prop up an all-powerful, far-reaching government it's not because they want to share power with you. Quite the opposite.

Rangel has now called out the big guns - Lanny Davis. No one covers better for a liar than Lanny Davis - just ask the pathological and documented serial liars, the Clintons.

HAS ANY MAJOR MEDIA OUTLET COVERED THIS STORY??? Yep, they've got Republican Ted Stevens all over the news as his trial starts. He's accused of not reporting hundreds of thousands in gifts.

Rangel has admitted to not reporting at least $75,000 from his posh vacation rental alone. Where's the trial?

What does it take to get Rangel's story into Big Media's news cycle?

Here are a list of potential crimes he's committed recently:

• Did not disclose at least $75,000 in rental income from a vacation rental he owns
• Did not pay income tax on free parking space
• Violated Congressional rules by leaving his car on federal property for 4 years, getting free parking, saving thousands on a parking space
  
• Had 4 rent-controlled apartments, using one of them as a campaign office, which is not allowed. Also his high income level should preclude him from ever being able to have a rent-controlled apartment, but he's combined 3 of them into one huge luxury flat.
• Has admitted to so many "errors" on his tax returns for the last 2 decades, he's hired a forensic accountant. He's gotten away with so much, only a few years worth of crimes could be investigated, since most fall out of the window of the statute of limitations.
• There are likely lots of other real estate profits for which he's not reported the income

Only the NY Post is on top of this. See these stories:

TOW-NAILING CHARLIE 'PARKER'

WAGING WAR ON CHARLIE

Some quotes from these articles:

According to his congressional disclosure reports, Rangel paid $3,894 a month in 2007 for four apartments in Lenox Terrace, a 1,700-unit luxury complex often described as Harlem's most prestigious address.

The market rent for such units is between $7,465 to $8,125, according to the Web site of the building's owner, the Olnick Organization.

Although Rangel gave up the unit he used as an office, the other three are used as a sprawling residence by him and his wife, Alma.

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There's sure plenty to look at.

Start with his four rent-stabilized apartments in Harlem and his failure to report $75,000 in apparently taxable rental income from a Caribbean beachfront villa.

Then there is his apparent failure to report income from the sale of:

* A home he owned in the District of Columbia.

* A Harlem apartment (though its value had allegedly doubled over two years).

* And a condo in Sunny Isles, Fla., apparently at a $60,000 profit.

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BELEAGUERED Rep. Charles Rangel holds one of the most influential jobs in America - chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Mere membership on Ways and Means is one of the most sought-after slots on Capitol Hill - and with good reason. The committee has the near-exclusive power to block or initiate any change to the tax code - in other words, it chooses who will pay how much in taxes and what income levels deserve tax credits.

In 2007 alone, that gave its members oversight over nearly $2.6 trillion in federal revenue.

In a wonderful show of how only liberals are tolerant and care for people, Rangel said this of Sarah Palin (full story here):

Rep. Charles Rangel yesterday slammed GOP veep nominee Sarah Palin as "disabled."

Asked by Channel 2's Marcia Kramer if Democrats are afraid of Palin, Rangel said, "You got to be kind to the disabled."

"You got to be kind to the disabled?" a surprised Kramer pressed.

"Yes," Rangel answered.

Kramer asked, "She's disabled?"

"There's no question about politically," Rangel said. "It's a nightmare to think that a person's foreign policy is based on their ability to look at Russia from where they live. It is insulting to Americans."

Palin, 44, the governor of Alaska, has a baby son, Trig, who has Down syndrome.

Throw out the corrupt Fat Cats at The Pantheon Journal.

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RANGEL ADMITS IT: Didn't Report $75,000 of Income

The poor Rep. from Harlem. All he has for a vacation getaway is this humble condo in the Domincan Republic:





... and though he rents it out all through the year, year after year, he has NEVER paid taxes on the income it generates. We used to care enough about this stuff that this would be enough to kick him out of congress, or at least he wouldn't have won his next election.

Democrat Rep. Charles Rangel is the Chairman of the Way and Means Committee. That makes him one of the most powerful people in the nation when it comes to determining tax law and how all those trillions will be spent.

This is why this story is so huge - the Democrat, who has now advanced a radical new increase in taxes, has not reported $75,000 in income from his villa.

Now, what do you think would happen to you or I if we didn't report $75k in income? Do you think the IRS would have a little problem with that? We'll see what happens to Rangel.

Rangel is one of the most divisive, partisan, and big-government Democrats that ever served in the House of Reps. Any time he opens his mouth about a conservative it's slime and slander.

One has to know, that if this were one of the most powerful Republicans going through this, it would be a 24/7 news cycle for a week on all the major networks. Yet, a Google search, as of today, on "rangel undeclared income" produced only the NY Post as the only recognizable media outlet, and it is not one of the majors.

This double-standard isn't just shocking - it's frightening. And it's one of the reasons that The Pantheon Journal exists. Larry King is not going to tell you about this stuff.

Click for the full Story from the NY Post, who broke this story.

Quotes:

Harlem Rep. Charles Rangel admitted that he earned more than $75,000 of undeclared income from a Dominican Republic villa, after The Post exposed his wrongdoing in an exclusive report Sunday.


Post investigation into Punta Cana found that the sun-drenched beach front "casita" 412 was regularly rented out for up to $1,100 a day, yet Rangel had said he received no income in 2006, 2007 and other years. In other years, he had declared rental income of up to $15,000. He now admits that over 20 years he made at least $75,000 in rental income that he didn't report.

Get more exposure here at The Pantheon Journal.

NY Post Nails Rep. Rangel

Charles Rangel (D - Harlem, NY), one of the most powerful congressman in the U.S., now has multiple public scandals: first, his 4 rent-controlled apartments, and now his beachfront villa in the Dominican Republic - one which the resort says is rented out all of the time, but one for which Rangel has only sporadically reported income. Tax avoidance has got to be a bad thing for the Chairman on the committee that has the most power over taxes and spending.

Stories are here:

TRICKY CHARLIE'S CARIB 'HIDEAWAY'

'SICK' IT TO CHARLIE

Quotes from the articles:

Rangel reported no income in 2006 and 2007 from his three-bedroom, three-bath villa, which rents for between $500 in the low season to $1,100 a night in the busy tourist season. Reports on the fancy property - nestled in a resort that attracts A-list celebs and pols - in earlier federal filings were spotty as well, records show.

The Harlem lawmaker's cagey maneuver comes on the heels of another controversial real-estate deal.
Earlier this summer, he came under fire when he admitted holding leases on four rent-stabilized apartments - three for living quarters and one for an office - in the Lenox Terrace luxury high-rise in Harlem. Rangel gave up the office space - and insisted himself that there be a congressional ethics inquiry into the arrangement.

"Charlie Rangel is a fan of authoring massive tax hikes just as long as he doesn't have to pay them," said NRCC spokesman Ken Spain.

The Greatness of Rent Control

Charles Rangel rents 4 apartments in New York. All them are cheaper than they would normally go for due to New York's radical rent-control laws. Charles Rangel is not poor - he's one of the most powerful congressmen in Washington.

4 apartments. That means there are 4 less spaces to rent for families or other renters because Congressman Rangel can rent them for cheaper.

Check out the NY Times article here.

This is not an isolated incident. Thomas Sowell, in Basic Economics, explains the simple supply-and demand result of rent control. Congressman Rangel exemplifies it perfectly - when one can get something at a cheaper price (and in this case, less than what it's actually worth), they tend to get more of it.

This hapens over and over. Stockholm, Sweden, experienced a massive back log of renters when when rent control was implemented. Why? Because young single people who otherwise would've stayed at home could now afford to rent more and bigger apartements. That meant that families who need more space and are willing to pay more have to sit on a waiting list to get into an apartment.

Not only does demand increase at the lower price, but the supply goes down, since fewer buildiers and private owners are willing to buy a building with a high mortgage, only to be stuck with fixed rental rates. Sowell provides a stat that says there are many more vacant buildings in New York city than there are homeless people.

Getting rid of rent control laws would mean that fat cats like Congressman Rangel no longer get a free ride. It also means the supply-demand equation can now work itself out, as more rental units become available on the market. More selection, better prices, which helps the lower income renters.

Just let people buy and sell how they like. Otherwise, we'll keep subsidizing the rich, like Congressman Rangel.

Rangel Watch: No. 1 In Lobbyist Donations

Yep, those Dems are sure for the little guy.

Especially Charlie Rangel, whose new tax plan is really going to be great for the economy, or, I mean, keeping Democrats in power by buying more votes using the massive federal purse.

NY Post reports that the powerful Congressman from Harlem has, in the first half of this year alone, received over $700,000 in lobbyist donations. That's more than twice the next guy on the list.

Now some math. The average donation is reportedly $2,282. That means to reach $732k, it would take more than 321 donations from lobbyists.

How many freakin' lobbyists are there???? Man, it must be great to be the Chair of the Ways and Means Committee.