The IRS has decided that it wants offshore money to come back to the United States. Thrilling news, Americans! Your IRS is willing to give you a HUGE break if you will bring that money back home to work in our economy. The plan being drafted would significantly lower penalties for Americans that keep their money overseas.

Now read that paragraph again. It would lower the PENALTIES! Not the tax rates. Right now the IRS nails you with a 50% penalty on the average balance you had in that overseas account for the past three years. That's just the penalty. When you bring the money back to work on our economy you also get nailed with the regular income taxes. And then, of course, there's the interest. Take the penalty, the taxes and the interest and you have virtually nothing less.

So what is the grand new IRS plan? Well, they'll reduce the penalty - and only the penalty - to either 5% or 20%. If the money was inherited the penalty will be less because you aren't actually the one who sent the money over yonder.

The plan is "intended to lure out of hiding scores of wealthy people who must come forward and declare their accounts in order to take advantage of the lower penalty."

There's a better idea. How much money are we talking about here? Trillions. A lot. I can't see why anyone would be anxious to take part in this plan. Leave the money over there and wait for better times. But what would happen if the government suddenly announced that all of this money could come home with no taxes and no penalty! Just bring it back to work in our economy and there will be no taxes due. I know, taxpayers with their money already in the US will scream about unfair treatment ... but if the goal here is to put more money into our economy without raising taxes or having to borrow the stuff ... then here's your solution. Trillions waiting to come home. Just say the word ... and the word damn sure isn't "we'll reduce the penalty but you'll still have to pay taxes and interest."

There is a problem here ... a problem crystal clear to the political class. If we did declare a tax amnesty, and if those trillions of dollars did come streaming back across the pond and into our economy... guess who gets to spend it? Well, it wouldn't be government. It's private sector money and the private sector would be spending and investing it. This does not please the Democrat mind. The government, and only the government, should be spending this money. When this is over you want to be able to credit the government with bailing us out .. not the private sector. Empower government, not the private sector. Don't you know who's in charge here?