Army of angels needed: a Rabbi’s view on tax dodging

Rabbi Menachem Creditor

From the Daily Journal, an article by Rabbi Menachem Creditor in the U.S.:

“I recently returned from Washington, D.C., where I joined the interfaith, bipartisan anti-poverty group Jubilee USA and other faith leaders and small-business owners from across the country to encourage our elected officials to reform the tax system and protect the most vulnerable among us. Perhaps what surprised me most was that even legislative allies in the efforts to repair the fabric of our nation’s economic inequality feel immobilized by the enormity of the task. To the paralysis, often experienced when confronted with big problems, I offer this faith response, culled from centuries of Jewish tradition: Ours is not to complete the task, but neither are we exempt from starting the work today.“

That bit in bold is a variant of what we at TJN and many of our allies need to tell ourselves, every day. The alternative is despair. It works, too. And, on a subject more specifically close to our hearts:

“I expressed to our elected representatives that whatever they think about taxes, we should have a tax system in which everybody pays their fair share. To me, this is one of those issues where Republicans and Democrats can — and must — agree. It makes no sense to have legal loopholes that allow big companies to avoid their share of taxes and then pass the burden on through reduced services and increased taxation for the rest of us.”

Right up our street. Now read the rest of it.