Obama should engage in multilateral talks with Iran

The National Iranian American Council held a discussion on “Can Obama Untangle the Iranian Challenge?” in which they discussed the past history of U.S.-Iranian relations and how the incoming administration could improve those relations. Three members of Congress, Chairman John Tierney (D-Mass.), Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and Senator Thomas Carper (D-Del.), made appearances and gave speeches in support of the National Iranian American Council’s initiative.

Ambassador James Dobbins, former Assistant Secretary of State, spoke about how the Iranian government repeatedly tried to open up negotiations with the U.S. during the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, but were given the cold shoulder by the Bush administration. Dobbins pointed out that the United States engages in discussions with other adversaries, but that they have made no effort to do so with Iran.

Iran doesn’t like the the “sticks and carrots” approach the U.S. practices, said Dr. Farideh Farhi of the University of Hawaii. The United States needs to accept that Iran’s foreign policy system is complex and that Iran’s political system is full of conflicts and competition between various factions, she said. Farhi continued, saying that the U.S. needs to stop thinking of Iran as if it is a unified body that can be controlled by a head.

Iran is “on a must-do list” for Obama, said Joseph Cirincione, President of Ploughshares Fund. Though Cirincione wanted to open up discussions, he emphasized that Obama should not rush into negotiations with Iran. Instead, he should wait to see the results 2009 elections in Iran. Cirincione also said the U.S. should engage in Iran multilaterally, pointing out the need for other countries in the Middle East to show respect for Iran. Holding multilateral talks was also necessary in the peace process for Israel and Palestine. “Not involving Iran guarantees failure” in the Israel-Palestine conflict, said Cirincione.

Tax gap reform will stop tax increases

"Some taxpayers shortchange the American people by nearly $300 billion, which is roughly $950 for every man, woman, and child in America," said Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.) at a roundtable discussion to find ways to cut the tax gap. With the financial crisis continuing to drive stocks down and the impending bailout bail threatening America's national debt levels, he said, it has become more important than ever to ensure taxes are being paid and to collect additional revenue without having to raise taxes in the next administration. The tax gap has not been examined since 2001, when more than $290 billion was not collected.

The discussion panel included the Inspector General, members of the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the National Taxpayer Advocate from the Internal Revenue Service, and members of the U.S. Treasury Department. Each panelist discussed seven ideal proposals to close the tax gap. These included the encouragement of more frequent, voluntary estimated tax payments by small businesses, the withholding of payments to noncompliant federal contractors, requiring information reporting by financial institutions about non-interest bearing accounts, reversing matching against state and local tax data, allowing voluntary withholding agreements among independent contractors and service recipients, eliminating the exception to 1099 information reporting for closely held corporations, and improvement of the IRS's data collection infrastructure. Carper has not specifically advocated any one of these proposals and believes that "no single approach, alone, will work." Carper encouraged the participants of the discussion to "think outside the box for new solutions."