In revelations that would be comical if they weren’t so predictable (and true), President Obama’s top small business advocate really is keeping it consistent with the administration he backs.
Small Business Majority President and CEO John Arensmeyer has frequently been trotted all over the place as a small business advocate supportive of the president’s agenda and policy goals. In a Huffington Post piece last year Arensmeyer advocated for higher taxes, writing "of course, nobody likes paying taxes, but we have a grave budget crisis on our hands."
Then there's this video segment in which Arensmeyer pushed support for an online sales tax. Note his advocating that everyone pay their fair share:
That’s funny considering Arensmeyer himself has had frequent problems when it comes to paying his own taxes, via The Washington Examiner:
Federal records show, for example, that from 2005 to 2009 Arensmeyer's group failed to file mandatory IRS 990 tax returns, even though donor records show Small Business Majority got at least $1.4 million in 2008 and 2009. Failure to file 990's for three consecutive years can result in the forfeiture of a group's tax-exempt status.
So, his vehicle for advocating that everyone else pay their fair share hasn’t been paying its fair share all along? It doesn’t stop there:
Marin County, Calif., court records show four tax liens on Arensmeyer Communications between 1999 and 2001, totaling more than $66,000. A fifth tax lien against Arensmeyer's firm was filed by the Illinois Department of Revenue in 1999 for $4,011.58. Arensmeyer filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2007 to erase $211,000 in largely personal debt. The self-professed small business advocate even stiffed a struggling Pennsylvania small business, costing the owner $20,000.
Costing real small business owners thousands of dollars while racking up tax liens? All in a day’s work for someone who seems to think the Obama agenda actually helps small business.
The report exposing Arensmeyer goes on to note that he’s managed to also attend 17 White House functions, including but not limited to a South Lawn event with British Prime Minister David Cameron. Seems you can do whatever you want as long as you support the Obama agenda.
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