In going after 'the rich,' Democrats want to snoop on the poor

Reason’s Matt Welch writes, “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D–Calif.) snapped when asked Tuesday if the proposal to dramatically increase the surveillance capabilities of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) would remain in the trillion-dollar social spending bill currently being negotiated among Democrats on Capitol Hill.

"Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes," the speaker said. Then she waved aside the questioner's accurate comment that banks have reported customer concerns about the idea that the IRS would scrutinize accounts with inflows and outflows as low as $600...

How much is $10,000? Average annual rent in West Virginia. Four months of full-time minimum wage earnings in NYC; 8 months federal. Less than half the average price for a used car.

And oh yeah, the HIGH band being proposed right now for IRS bank-snoopage. https://t.co/0yaFq14EeD — Matt Welch (@MattWelch) October 14, 2021

...the negotiators have already agreed to Biden's basic setup of giving the IRS an extra $80 billion over the next decade to hire 87,000 new employees and build out a 'comprehensive financial account reporting regime' that would intrude into previously untrodden territory (such as Venmo accounts and cryptocurrency), so I'd take the over on regular Joes and Janes seeing a noticeable increase in scrutiny.

Republicans are doing their best to sound the alarm (while the news media are doing their best to stress the 'Republicans pounce' angle), but the fact is that without significant outcry about a complicated and hellaciously expensive must-pass monstrosity, some version of this vast new financial surveillance state is likely to get built. Those who value financial privacy are best off seeking it in another country."

Read the entire column.