Giving Compass' Take:

• Social justice advocate Paul Buchheit discusses several tax issues related to society's power dynamics that he feels often go underreported.

• How is the tax system undermining philanthropy's efforts to improve the world? How can funders work to create a more equitable tax system? 

• Learn about an initiative working to improve economic mobility across the U.S. 

Tax Haven Cheating is Much Costlier than the Annual Safety Net — But the IRS Keeps Getting CUT

Offshore hoarding of private American wealth is estimated to be $3.3 trillion (4% of U.S. $82 trillion financial wealth).

The safety net costs about $400 billion per year, or, including Medicaid, about $900 billion per year.

Taking on the tax cheaters seems like an obvious response, instead of cutting the safety net. But the IRS budget itself has been steadily cut. Amazingly, and perversely, the Internal Revenue Service, which could be recovering much of our hidden money, has seen its staff and budget slashed 14 to 18 percent since the recession.

Our Own Country is the World's Second Biggest Tax Haven

While the privileged American tax cheaters are taking money from their own country, they're not shy about taking from the rest of the world. According to the Financial Secrecy Index of the Tax Justice Network, the U.S. is second only to Switzerland as a tax haven. Their report states: "Financial secrecy provided by the U.S. has caused untold harm to the ordinary citizens of foreign countries, whose elites have used the United States as a bolt-hole for looted wealth."

Read the full article about economic and social issues by Paul Buchheit at The Smirking Chimp.