Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik withdrew himself from consideration to head the Department of Homeland Security. In his surprise announcement, Kerik said:

I uncovered information that now leads me to question the immigration status of a person who had been in my employ as a housekeeper and nanny. It has also been brought to my attention that for a period of time during such employment required tax payments and related filings had not been made.

How many times is this going to happen with candidates for high positions in government? There have been at least a half-dozen prominent cases in recent memory. Does this signal that there are a lot of crooks out there? Or does it show that our laws are so convoluted and poorly-enforced that they turn otherwise honest people into criminals?

Because the federal government refuses to secure our borders or enforce the immigration laws that are already on the books, there are millions of illegal immigrants in this country. Given that the government won’t kick them out, what are they supposed to do? Not work and starve? Of course not, so they get jobs that are, by definition, illegal. And because they’re illegal, nobody pays taxes on them. Paying taxes would call attention to the illegal immigrant and the fact that the employer is committing a crime as well. So the taxes don’t get paid.

Should individuals really be required to pay taxes on babysitters and nannies? If you just need someone to look after your kid, should you be treated as a large employer and subjected to pages of tax paperwork?

The tax code in its current form requires citizens to retain the services of accountants, attorneys and financial advisors to ensure full compliance with the law. That’s just not realistic. If people were really forced to comply with the employment tax laws, they just wouldn’t hire sitters. But instead, most people ignore the law with a wink and a nod, and they’re held accountable only if they’re busted or nominated for some lofty office.

When the law places an unreasonable burden on citizens, they often break it. Are the “citizen criminals” entirely to blame? Or is this a creation of out-of-touch lawmakers and bureaucrats to whom paperwork and legal minutiae are a necessary part of everyday life?

Out here in the real world, successfully navigating through life is hard enough. To the greatest extent possible, government should just get out of the way.